Dirt Road Were
by ScaraMedn
Summary: The sequel to A Wing and A Were. The were-bun and vampire fox face the challenges of life on the farm and try to come to terms with their growing relationship. Meddlesome Hopps', Nick's sister, county politics, and the upcoming harvest festival do nothing to ease the tensions for the pair.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

So... Yeah. It's derp season, apparently. First, my thanks to kt_valmiri and Damlone for soundboarding and Beta reading respectively. My gratitude to OnceNeverTwiceAlways for editing. This is the start of a series, not a one-shot. Sorry for the confusion. RL nonsense has created a magnificent "oopsie" moment or two in that I forgot not only my thank-yous, but also the properly edited version. It's fixed now. Uhhuh... Go Wednesday.

* * *

Judy was grumpy. Very grumpy. She felt she was being a touch unreasonable, but her grump was simply refusing to shift. Since she had brought Nick home, her responsibilities had lessened slightly. She had a friend who she could talk to simply by walking down the hall and better quarters which were, coincidentally, right next to Nick's in the guest wing of the house. Judy couldn't complain about any of those facts. They were nothing but good. She didn't like to think of herself as an ungrateful rabbit. Her current circumstances were a notable improvement over living in the barracks and working eighteen hours a day. She appreciated the change heartily, and, yet, her displeasure remained.

She'd tried chocolate and coffee—even splurged on the new Gazelle album—but nothing had worked for longer than a few moments. She had to admit life was pretty good, as was evidenced by the fact that she was driving home from class instead of taking the bus. The privilege of using one of the farm trucks was usually reserved for family business; transport of injured, elderly or unwell family members; or courting. It was that last one that was turning her knuckles white.

Her world had gone sideways since that fox had shown up. As she'd tried explaining it to her mother: There was nothing between them but air. It was the truth—plain, simple, and obvious as her brilliant purple eyes. Her reasoning was sound and perfectly understandable.

It had held up for exactly one minute before her mother had torn it to shreds over pancakes that very morning.

"Mom, I'm serious. We're just friends and nothing else. I'll grant you how we met was a little odd, but that's it."

"You hid him from us." There was no rancor or admonishment in the statement, but the point had been clear.

"I hid him because I didn't want him dead until I knew why Beast stopped me from killing him."

Her mother had hummed. "And now you're friends."

"Yes. Friends. Like 'fiends', but with an R in it."

"Friends."

"Yes. He's been good company on my patrols, and I like hearing about the outside world. I'll never see it, so it's nice to hear about it from a mammal who has."

She got along with him. A fair point. There was a lot for her to get along with. He was considerate and polite, if rough around the edges and a bit rude at points. There were endless stories he could tell and jokes abounded. He was fun, and he listened. Plenty of friend material there.

Bonnie's expression had been part amused, part nonplussed as she'd asked, "How many friends do you have that Beast likes?"

Judy gripped the steering wheel like she wanted to murder it. Memories of all the ways Beast liked Nick were too numerous for her to ignore and, lately, had grown to embarrassing levels beyond tolerating. It was bad enough that he was Beast's favorite toy, but their neighborly status was causing serious problems. He'd learned far too much about her lately.

She liked to lounge around her room in the buff, when she had down time. Nick had discovered this when he was sent to call her down to dinner. The moment she had heard his voice, she'd jumped in surprise and that was all it had taken to break her focus. Beast surged up and took control, ripping open the door and pulling the blood-drinking fox into her room seconds after he'd spoken. That was also when he had learned of Beast's love of children's movies. The worst part was that she knew he could smell her embarrassment. Blessedly, he had assumed it was because of the kit's movie instead of her nudity in his presence.

Judy slowed the truck to a stop by the house and killed the engine. Much to the doe's relief, it was the brief lull in the evening during dinner, where everyone was at table and the yard was empty. Soon, the green at the front of the house would be full of tumbling kits and relaxing elder rabbits, but now it was still. The quiet afforded the beleaguered doe a chance to fortify herself. For a long moment, she concentrated on breathing—long, slow, deep breaths that would calm her. When that failed her utterly, she flopped her head against the steering wheel and started to slowly, but firmly, beat her forehead against it.

"Why?"

Thump

"Why?"

Thump

"Why?!"

Thump

Why was her nudity suddenly a problem around him? She'd been without clothes around him for weeks, right from the day they met. It wasn't until her mother had started her matchmaking campaign that she'd gotten self-conscious. That development only served to provide further ammunition to Mrs. Bonnie Hopps. Judy was so frustrated that she wanted to cry or maybe rip a tree apart with her teeth—she wasn't sure which.

Her internal grumblings were interrupted by a small tap at the window. One of her nieces, Annabelle, was eagerly trying to get her attention. Judy smiled weakly and opened the door.

"Hey, Annie! What's going on?"

"You're late," the six-year-old replied tartly.

"Classes ran long tonight."

"You missed dinner." The kit was hopping from foot to foot, impatiently waiting for Judy to get out of the truck.

"I'll warm something up later."

Annabelle shook her head. "You need to eat now, so Mister Nick can eat. He promised flying tonight!"

A trembling breath later, Judy managed a fake smile good enough to satisfy the kit. "I'll be right in. I just need my bag."

"Hurry! Bedtime is soon!"

Judy watched the kit until she was out of sight, slumping back against the seat as soon as she was gone. The kits loved him. She couldn't deny that it was heartwarming to see him play with the little ones. They swarmed him whenever he was around them, which was usually when he was barely conscious in the evenings or early mornings. The doe also couldn't deny that it was a welcome amusement to see a groggy fox deal with the Hopps Fluffle's enthusiasm. They were a handful and a half and that was on quiet days.

Despite that, he was always gentle with them and worked very hard to make them happy. His self-named "Wilde Airline Rides" were the fluffle's single most sought-after entertainment. In the month since the fox had arrived, their popularity hadn't diminished a bit. Her mother had been quick to point that out at breakfast, and Judy had agreed without complaint, even smiling along with it. Then, the heavy blows had started falling—all the talk about her "friend" was just a warm-up.

"He'd make a good father."

Judy had planted her face in her paws. "Oh gods, Mom, really?"

"Really what, bun-bun?, Bonnie had sighed, patiently.

"Are you still trying to set me up with him?"

Bonnie's laughter had confused her, then what followed had horrified her. "Good lord, no! I don't have to do that!"

"You don't?"

"No!" Bonnie had chuckled and leaned against the sink. "I'm trying to get you to catch on, is all."

Mortified, Judy had hissed, "I am not infatuated with him!"

"But you are attracted. And before you start arguing, I have proof."

"Sure you do." Her mother's casual attitude had infuriated her.

While Judy was embarrassed and a little confused, Bonnie had calmly loadeddishes into the sink to soak. This was obviously not even a challenge for her, and Judy had hated to see it.

"Your scent changes when he bites you?"

Judy hadn't been able to deny that. The only time she'd allowed it to happen not in her were-form, she had discovered she very much enjoyed it when he fed.

"So, I have a kink," she'd disparaged. "That's hardly proof of an attachment, let alone romantic interest, as you keep implying."

In response, Bonnie had turned to face her with a smile that dripped smug assurance. "Kaitlyn and Maeve have taken an interest in him."

"The whole clan has taken an interest in him. So, what?"

"I heard them discussing him on the porch. In very explicit terms."

Judy had felt something hot and mean stir in the back of her mind. "I'm hardly surprised. He's male, and they're the biggest flirts in the family."

"There's a difference between girl talk and battle plans, Judith. They weren't admiring the scenery. They were sharing notes." The Hopps matriarch had grinned. "Those girls are fox hunting."

Judy had stood and stormed out of the room.

As she'd turned down the hallway, she had heard her mother call after her, "It's called jealousy, Judith!"

Jealousy.

Judy grumbled to herself as she slammed the truck door and hefted her rucksack onto her shoulder, heading for the house. She tried to let the breeze carry her stresses away. She was downwind from the house, so no one would scent out her emotional discombobulation and misinterpret it. The last thing she needed was anyone feeding her mother more ammunition.

She wasn't jealous. She was annoyed. Her mother was reading into the situation to push her own agenda. Yes, she had liked it when he'd bitten her, but that was once and would never happen again. She was making sure of that. No more meals that didn't come from Beast—but that was a concern for another moment. Now, Judy was faced with going back into the house after storming out of it that morning. Her mother was in there. But Judy had chores to do and homework before her patrol.

There were also a fair few tasks that centered on the fox she had to address, not the least of which were culinary. She needed to feed him as part of their deal, but, outside that, she would welcome all distractions. Once she got through her evening routine and out on patrol, things would be much better for her. She resolved to do so as quickly as she could manage. Gods willing, Nick wouldn't take his time with eating, and she could get lost in her homework quickly.

As her paw reached for the door, voices brought her up short.

"You're very loyal, Mister Wilde."

Judy recognized Kaitlyn's voice instantly and froze.

"I wouldn't say loyal, exactly."

"You're waiting for her."

"I'm starving."

Judy felt her anger skyrocket. She was not a snack! This was too much. Her mother's assumptions were one thing, but this was demeaning. If that was all she was to that red-furred moron, he could find elsewhere to eat. Or so she thought, until he continued.

"And she's never this late. I thought with her using that ancient truck, she'd be back a little earlier, not massively later. Maybe, I should go look for her."

The worry in his voice went a long way to blunting her ire. Alright, fine. He was hungry. Concerned and hungry. That was at least more understandable. However, her sister's follow up brought Judy straight back to fuming and then some.

"You know, you could always ask for someone else to stand in when she's out."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, we all know Judy feeds you. You had an arrangement while you were in the woods. But you aren't anymore."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why? Because all the were-buns will destroy you?"

"For a start."

Kaitlyn's musical laughter tinkled through the open windows and made Judy's blood boil.

"Nicky, all the weres have given you their tentative blessing. No one knows why, but their Beasts don't want to hurt you. You've been respectful and courteous to Judy—hell, you have better table manners than most of my brothers!"

"That's a strange endorsement…"

Kaitlyn pounced on the end of his sentence. "And my father, some days. I'm just saying you have other options. I'm sure I'm not the only one willing to offer you a sip or two."

"I appreciate the offer, but—"

"I get it," Kaitlyn interrupted. "You feel more comfortable with Jude the Prude. I'm not trying to mess that up. Just… If you're interested in a little variety, let me know. Who knows? There may be a new flavor of bunny you enjoy. Maybe as a little dessert?"

The thoughts boiled through her mind in a matter of rabbit-quick heartbeats.

Beast liked him. Her littermates and older siblings were at least not-untrusting of him. Her fellow were-buns were astonished to admit that their beasts didn't want him dead. Bonnie herself admitted to enjoying the fox's company, and her father had agreed to letting him stay in the house. To his credit, the fox had been honest about his less than salubrious past and had managed a degree of tasteful humor in the face of being torn to shreds that first night. That went a long way towards ingratiating him with her family, and his fluffle wrangling was a huge help. Even her father was on pleasantly cordial terms with him. Now, she had a sister making a play. Her hated nickname didn't help.

It was no surprise that some of her sisters were getting curious about the vampire. He had possessed a strangeness at first, but that was just because he was new. Over the last month, that had worn off. It had been encouraging to see...until now.

That was no simple flirt. Judy had seen the machinations of her sisters and younger aunts for far too long to miss it. That little exchange was the opening move of a buck hunt on her fox.

The words "her fox" flitted through her mind and left her stunned.

She regained her senses just in time to hear Nick mumble, "I should see if Bonnie's heard from her yet. Excuse me," followed by his quick, yet heavy paw-falls fading away. Judy breathed a sigh of relief. Her shoulders locked as her sister's flat voice carried to her ears.

"You coming in, Judy? It's safe. Your fox is gone."

She pushed open the door and eyed her slightly younger sibling.

"Problem?"

"I know what you're doing, Kait," Judy stated as she dropped her bag and leaned against the bench by the door.

"I'd be flabbergasted if you didn't."

"Why?"

"Really, Jude? Why?" Kaitlyn asked, half laughing. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious. Why are you going after him?"

"Mostly because of you, Judy."

The younger Hopps doe must have realized how it had sounded to put it that way from the groaning of the bench's arm under her sister's grip. It was never wise to challenge a lycanthrope, even obliquely, and that certainly sounded like a challenge in retrospect. Kaitlyn Hopps was very quick to set the record straight.

"No! Not like that, Judy. Seriously. I'm not trying to steal him."

"Oh, for gods' sake…. I'm not dating him!"

"And that's the problem."

Judy raked her paws over her ears. "Can you please be clear? I'm too tired for this."

"Ok. I'll make it simple for you. You've been showing him off for a month and haven't put a claim on him. How did you expect us to react?"

"Claim? What? I—"

"You can save the excuses. I don't know what you're doing or why, but you have been asking for trouble. If you like that male, you better stop being stupid about it."

"Excuse me?"

"Judy, he's cute."

Hearing that word made Judy's ears drop like stones. An annoying four-letter word that rabbits found pejorative and demeaning from other species, "cute" meant something very different between rabbits. When a buck described a doe with that word, it meant distracting and alluring with all kinds of connotations ranging from long-term interest to sexual prowess. Directed at a buck, it meant strong and confident, appealing and companionable with a massive dash of desire. All in all, it meant attractive, desirable, and—of notable interest—it also meant mate and father material. To hear it from her sister in a dead serious tone made her nose twitch.

"He's great with the fluffle, charming, polite, and kinda funny."

"He's not!" Judy huffed.

Her sister crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Says the one who giggles most when he tells those terrible dad-jokes. I swear, Daddy is taking notes."

"I do not!" Judy exclaimed, nearly panicking.

Kaitlyn sighed. "Whatever you're telling yourself is your business. The rest of us see how interested you are, but you haven't claimed him. Nothing makes a male more desirable than seeing the interest of other females. You've brought him here and shown off how much he has to offer. I want a shot at him. I know Maeve does, and there are at least a paw-full of others that do too. You need to get your head straight, and quick if you want to keep him to yourself. You have right of first claim, but if you don't take it soon, I'll be first in line to take that fox for a test drive."


	2. Chapter 2

Nick was a bit unsettled as he hustled through the Hopps Warren. He was quite happy to see that his host family was getting used to him. The kits were almost fearless with him now. The older Hopps siblings were very welcoming and Judy's parents were treating him warmly. If he was honest, the Hopps matriarch was bordering on affectionate, these days. Even the eldest of the Hopps', one Pop-Pop Hopps, had stopped making references to damnation when he entered a room. Nick was pleased by all these things, or had been until Miss Kaitlyn Hopps had shown such… overt consideration as to offer him a meal in Judy's absence.

Nick shivered as he made his way towards the kitchen.

The intent of the tan-furred rabbit he'd left at the door had been all too clear. Not that she'd been painfully overt, but the pheromone cloud she'd been exuding was all the indication he'd needed to know where she was coming from. Nick had no idea why he had a new rabbit interested in him. She was the fifth in the last few days to offer him a "nibble" as some of them had called it. At least this most recent incident was closer to light flirting than the near-vamping he'd received earlier in the day.

Maeve was a black and tan brindle with a fur pattern that was close to the grain of a dark mahogany. She was very striking from that perspective, alone. Add in her smoky soprano and generous side of hips and she was a recipe for seduction. Gods only knew how many bucks had their eyes on her. And yet, she had cornered him about an hour after Judy had left for classes—awkwardly, in the laundry.

He'd been on one knee, moving a load of clothes from a washer to a dryer when he sensed a predatory gaze on him.

As he started to straighten up he heard a wolf whistle, causing him to jump. His head snapped towards the sound only to find Maeve sitting on top of the machine next to him, her legs dangling over the side. Her smile looked hungry and her ears were flushed. Nick's suspicions were confirmed a moment later.

"I must say I like the view…"

"So I gather from the whistle."

"That was just for you bent over like that."

"Thanks?" Nick mumbled awkwardly as he stuffed the last of the clothes into the machine. "And now?"

"Your face fits perfectly between my thighs." Nick blinked, realized how he was positioned from her point of view, and shot to his feet. "You really didn't have to stand up."

"I would disagree."

"You won't for long."

"Is there something you wanted?"

"One thing in particular, but I have to be patient to get it."

"How unfortunate."

"I hate waiting."

"C'est la vie."

Maeve pursed her lips and seemed to come to a decision. Hopping down from her seat she walked around the fox at a leisurely pace.

"Ever been to a faire, Mister Wilde?"

"When I was a kit."

"Did you enjoy the rides then?"

"I suppose, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Most of the bucks around here are like bumper cars at the county faire—good for a solid bang or two, but boring after a minute. Assuming they last that long."

"I'm not particularly interested in how the local male rabbits are in bed, Miss Hopps."

"It's Maeve, foxy, and that isn't my point. Judy isn't the only Hopps girl who gets a thrill from biting. Take it from me."

"I'll be sure to."

"Promise?"

Nick would normally be impressed at the rabbit's capacity to turn everything into an innuendo, but he had only been awake for an hour and hadn't eaten. He didn't have the mental power to deal with it.

"Could you please stop meandering?"

"So polite, even when frustrated. No wonder Mother approves."

"Bumper cars…?"

"Alright. The bucks in this town are bumper cars, but I am willing to bet you ride like a Furrari!" Nick found himself pressed back against the machine he just loaded just by the doe's presence alone. "I'm bored, Nicky. Bored and sick of wasting my time on ten-stroke bucks."

Caught off guard, all Nick could manage was, "You could get yourself a six-pack?"

Maeve guffawed, but didn't move. Instead, she ran a paw up his chest and purred, "I could, but I'm not that kind of doe. Besides, I think you'd be more satisfying than a baker's dozen."

"That's, uh… quite a claim."

"I saw you in your towel after your shower yesterday. You weren't as careful as you should have been at keeping it closed."

"Um…"

"Did I finally find the end of your quips? Or do you need me to work your starter handle a bit to help you along?"

"I'm not as sharp when I'm hungry."

"That _is_ good to know…"

"Pretty obvious if you talk to me first thing in the evening."

"Maybe so." Maeve rubbed her paws over the fox's belly and chest one more time before stepping back. Nick was relieved at getting a little breathing space, but was prepared in case of a renewed assault. "I'll be clear, Nick—"

"Please do?"

Maeve giggled and chewed her lower lip. "I would have thought I was very clear so far."

"In part. Why are you doing this?"

"Unclaimed is fair game. That's the saying. Judy's being completely stupid about you, so I'm testing the waters. If I like what I see, I can make a claim."

"This may be a stupid question, but why aren't you? If you're willing to go this far, why not just finish it?"

"Because Judy is a lycanthrope. None of us are crazy enough to try a claim until she's out of the running. The last thing we need is her in a dominance frenzy."

"I can only assume you've answered me, because I understood none of that."

"Never you mind, then, foxy. All you need to now is that time is running out for Prudy Judy to do what we all know she wants to, but is too much of a chicken to actually do. If she grows a spine, that's that. If she doesn't, though… well… I promise you I'm more experienced at pleasing a male and I do like a …challenge…."

With one last smoldering look and a wink, the brindled doe slipped out of the laundry, leaving Nick to his thoughts and new-minted headache.

They didn't understand.

They couldn't, of course. They didn't understand what it meant to feed from a living mammal. The intimacy of it, or how painful it was likely to be for them. Nick didn't know why Judy didn't seem bothered by it, but he had a sneaking suspicion it was because she was a lycanthrope. Interestingly, it wasn't the Were-buns that were expressing interest in him directly, but he'd seen at least two that were straight up ogling him. If there were two that were being open about it, gods only knew how many were being timid.

Timidity in a lycanthropic rabbit was such an absurd idea to the vampiric vulpine that he found himself chuckling as he turned a corner towards the kitchen area. He had to revise his opinion almost immediately upon almost running one over.

Somehow, a light colored ball of fluff materialized coming the other direction around the corner at nearly the same speed he was moving. Both mammals slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stand-still, barely avoiding the impact. The rabbit he almost flattened was a mottled white and tawny doe named Chloe and one of the Were-buns. Nick watched as she slowly backed away and flattened herself against the wall to let him pass. Her ears were pink and she very openly scented the air as he sidestepped around her. She apparently had ideas about being pressed against a wall, considering how she was arched her back against the molding and rolled her hips. She paused just long enough to meet his eyes and grin impishly before fleeing down the hall.

 _Timid were-buns… I just had to wonder, didn't I?_

Nick was suddenly even more eager to see Judy. One of the fringe benefits to her presence was the other rabbits kept a little more distance. One of the deficits was she fed him—a double edged sword, these days.

Hunger and desire were linked for vampires—a point of significant education for young vampires and one of the major reasons they used blood packs so often. It was so much easier to control that particular desire when it wasn't a mammal. It was something he'd let slip in passing to Judy only once and been hideously embarrassed in retrospect. That first night he hadn't thought much of it. When Nick had met the grey were-rabbit he'd never considered, even for a moment, that she'd end up being his closest friend. He was pretty happy she hadn't remembered it, considering how often he'd fed from her.

If she had, she'd realize how intimate feeding was for him and where it could possibly lead. That concern was why he possessed the "table manners" he was so regularly praised for. They were good courtesy, yes, but they were also a pattern through which to exercise discipline, so he wouldn't get carried away. With a regular mortal that wasn't a huge risk. However, his first meal from Judy had been an exceedingly erotic experience—one that had overwhelmed him and left him the closest to well and truly drunk in his life.

As soon as he reached the dining hall he scanned for the one rabbit other than Judy he felt safe around, the matriarch of the family. He could feel eyes boring through his trousers at every step, as he searched. Not seeing her in the main room, Nick hurried along. If she wasn't overseeing the meal itself she'd be directing the post-meal clean up, so he skirted the crowd and made for the relative safety of the kitchens and Bonnie Hopps' presence. No one misbehaved in front of the lady of the house.

The matronly brown were-rabbit was shooing kits away from the counters when he arrived.

"Mrs. Hopps, have you heard from Judy?"

"I keep telling you to call me Bonnie."

"That's a challenge for me, ma'am."

"Still worried we'll tear you to shreds?"

"Absolutely, one hundred percent!"

Bonnie chuckled. "No one in this house will cause you harm. You have my word. To answer your question, no, I haven't heard from Judy, but on rare occasions she runs late if her classes demand it. She should be home soon."

"Hrmmm..."

"Your concern is touching, Nicolas."

"I don't mean to fret."

"It's alright. I'm sure she appreciates it."

"She's a Were-rabbit. I know she can take care of herself."

Bonnie laughed openly. "She is, but don't sell yourself short. There's something comforting about having someone waiting for you at home."

Before Nick could react to Bonnie's inference, Judy's voice cut through the air.

"Gah!" The grey rabbit with black tipped ears did not look pleased.

Bonnie raised a concerned eyebrow. "Did classes run late?"

"Yes." Came Judy's terse reply. "Is there any dinner left?"

"In the usual spot. Did you want it warmed up?"

Rather than answer, Judy went to one of the large refrigerators and yanked it open. She collected her plate and a fork, removed the cling film, and proceeded to devour her meal with a fervor that both Bonnie and Nick found a little distressing. As soon as the plate was clear it was deposited in a sink to soak and Nick found himself dragged off by his shirt front. As soon as the rabbit and fox were out of sight, Bonnie sighed. It was rather clear that her daughter had been pushed a bit too far.

Nick stumbled along behind the fuming rabbit, trying to get his feet under him.

"Carrots! What on earth is going on?!"

All he got in return was unintelligible muttering.

"Carrots?"

More muttering.

"Hopps!"

Still nothing.

In the atrium, Nick planted his feet and leaned back hard, stopping them both in their tracks. Judy swung around from the sudden change in momentum and Nick caught her as she overbalanced. He held her shoulders and tried to understand why she looked so upset.

"Judy, what's wrong?"

She shook his paws off her. "Nothing!"

"I'll take bald-faced lies for one hundred."

A ghost of a smile flickered across her face and she squashed it. Pinching the bridge of her muzzle, she turned away grumbling. "Long day. Sorry."

"Judy—"

Nick's thoughts were derailed as Judy shoved her bare arm at him. "You need to eat and I need to get to my patrol."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Just… Be quick. I have a lot to do."

"Alright."

Nick wasted no time and quickly nipped her forearm, drawing a tiny trickle of blood. The throaty gasp it drew from her stopped him cold. Things happened very quickly after that. All Nick had time to do was register the mortified expression on her face before she grabbed his tongue, raked it across the little wounds on her arm, and fled the house. Nick was left flat on his butt in the middle of the atrium watching his friend grow smaller on the other side of the front door.

Reflexively, Nick swallowed and realized he had small drops of blood all along his muzzle. He hastily began to clean his chops with his tongue only to be stopped by another collection of gasps. Several of Judy's siblings had been witness to her little outburst and now were staring as he cleaned himself up.

"Sorry. I'm usually much neater," Nick mumbled, embarrassedly.

"We know," one of the teenaged bucks commented vacantly.

The awkward silence stretched and Nick quickly found himself stammering, "I should go see what's wrong with Judy. If you'll excuse me?"

The little group nodded and he trotted out the door, but not before he heard them whisper "His tongue is as long as my ears!", "It's forked, too.", and "Lucky doe." The moment he was away from the house, Nick's wings were out and he put on the speed.

Bonnie watched the fox soar off after her daughter. It was a good sign and encouraging, but not without concern for her. Her daughter was the oldest and strongest of the current generation of lycanthropes, but she was painfully naïve about many things. Unfortunately, the only way to fix most of that was to experience it. Some of those experiences would be painful. There was nothing she could do about that except to leave it to the two young mammals to sort it out. That part was out of her paws. What she _could_ do was tell the rest of her daughters to tone it down and placate the fluffle until their flying fox ride returned. Allowing the kits an extra hour to play wouldn't upset things overmuch and if it helped Judy and Nick get closer, it was worth it. Smiling, the elder were-bun set about her tasks.

Nick didn't have to fly long in order to locate his quarry. Which was just as well. He'd only had a few drops and didn't have a lot of power to spare. A quarter mile away from the house at the flowerbeds by the tree line, Nick found her. She was sitting on a fallen tree with her head in her paws. Nick felt awful. Yes, he was still hungry and he wanted to make sure she was alright, but before anything else, he needed to say something.

Keeping his distance, he landed and very respectfully approached.

"Judy, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I should have reminded you to change and let Beast feed me."

"Its not your fault, dumb fox. It was mine. I didn't think."

"What's going on? I've only known you for a couple months, but I thought you were pretty even-tempered. What got you so angry?"

"A lot of things. Lots of little things that added up and then I was stupid and embarrassed myself."

"I don't really understand…"

"That's fine."

"Judy…"

"We'll talk about it later. Right now, I have a patrol to finish and a lot of homework to finish afterwards."

"Do you want company?"

"I… do, but no. You have kits to fly around and I need to get this over with." Judy chuckled wryly. "Since a certain fox no longer lives in the Hollow, I don't have a ton to check in on and I can get my patrols done in good time, these days."

"You're glad to be rid of me, then?"

"Absolutely! Much easier to keep an eye on you when you're in the room next door."

Their quiet laughter was punctuated by an accompanying growl from the fox's stomach.

"Sorry about that. You didn't give me a chance to actually drink anything before you… hared off."

"Oh, gods… Really?" Judy flopped back onto her log. "Now, I'm embarrassed for running off _and_ the bad pun."

Nick shrugged and smiled. Judy laughed weakly.

"So…", he ventured. "Did you want to have beast feed me, or try round two, yourself?"

"I- um…" Judy blinked a few times before she answered with a blank expression. "I guess it's me."

"You guess?"

Suddenly, she was all bashful fiddling. "Beast, uh… Wants me to feed you tonight. Won't say why."

"Odd."

"Said the punny vampire fox to the embarrassed were-bun."

"Fair enough."

Round two, as it had been termed, started awkwardly and quickly went downhill. Nick felt horrible.

The awkwardness was thick enough to cut with a knife, for a start. Then, the bite happened. Nick wanted to make it quick, but Judy was fidgety. Each time he brought his fangs close to skin, Judy would tense up. By the fourth attempt her breathing was heavy. He wanted to assume it was nerves, but he'd been feeding from her for a while. She shouldn't have been so put off.

Rather than second guess her and risk a were-powered punch to the shoulder, Nick decided to just go for it. He sank his teeth in with a short, sharp clenching of his jaws and held a firm pressure on the limb in case she tried to pull away. He doubted she would, but the attempt would cause more injury if she did. Just in case, he paid extra attention to her scent and heartrate to make sure she wasn't about to panic. He needn't have worried.

Her reactions weren't a danger to her, but they were unusually intense.

The moment he bit, she stiffened. Her breathing became deep and shuddering, but remained quick. Her other paw came up to clamp over her muzzle, muffling a grunt of what he assumed was pain. Her heartrate was very fast. When she closed her eyes and turned her face away, while flopping her ears behind her, Nick knew he had to hustle up and release her. She was showing all the signs of a negative reaction to being bitten, but forcing herself to continue with the feeding. It was the smart move to minimize further injury, but it was more than Nick was willing to put her through.

The blood pooled very quickly in his mouth and he swallowed as soon as he took enough to last him through his evening's flights. He quickly laved the wound and made a pass over the wounds from the earlier, botched, feeding with his tongue. Nick was extremely thorough and careful this time, hoping to repair the damage and ease her mind. All through the wound closing and cleaning Judy was a trooper, in Nick's opinion. She twitched and shuddered, muffling her vocal reactions, and refusing to move until he was done. He had to be impressed with her willpower.

The moment he was done, he squeezed her paw and said, "I'm sorry, Judy. We won't do that, again. I'll ask Beast to—"

Judy's voice was very small as she replied. "Stop apologizing for nothing. It's fine."

"I'd believe you if you could look me in the face and say that. You're flushed, breathing heavily… You were in pain the whole time. You're even shaking!"

"Nick, I'm ok."

"No. I'll talk to Beast and—"

Nick's voice was cut short as a pair of little grey paws clamped, vice-like, over his muzzle. He was unceremoniously yanked to his knees, so he was eye level with the rabbit. She pulled his muzzle down so she could look him eye to eye, which put his nose roughly level with her stomach. A more… intimate proximity than he was expecting.

"Listen, fox. I said I'm fine and I meant it. Beast isn't always up to feeing you, so I will. I'm doing it willingly. Stop blabbering."

He had to pry her paws of his snout before he could speak. "I don't like hurting you."

"That's sweet, but you close the wounds and the pain passes. My transformations can hurt more than your little nibbles."

"Are you sure? I can ask someone else to stand in."

That was very clearly the wrong thing to say. Judy's eyes snapped to his and she all but growled, "Who?"

"Um… A few of your siblings have offered. Mostly your sisters, if I'm honest"

"Wha- mostly?!"

Nick nodded nervously. "One of your brothers did, too."

"Hang on. Which one?"

"I think his name was Franklin."

"Frankie? Are you serious?" The fox nodded. Judy blinked and murmured, "I didn't think he had it in him..."

"In his defense, I don't think he meant it inappropriately."

"...but some of them have?"

Nick tried to deflect. "They're your sisters. Could you see them doing that?"

"Yes."

Clearing his throat Nick continued, saying "I think he's a lycanthrope, so that might be safe," but Judy was not about to be distracted.

"Which of my sisters?"

"Well…"

"Which ones?!"

"Were-bun or normal?"

"Both."

"A handful? Some more enthusiastically than others?" Her flat, hard stare encouraged him to continue. "Um... Kaitlyn earlier tonight. Maeve... I'm pretty sure Chloe would agree if I asked. She seems a little shy."

"Strangest were-bun in the clan..." Judy grumbled.

"I can believe it."

"Who else?"

Nick sighed. "Really, Carrots?"

"Who?!"

Nick suddenly recalled all the times he'd seen her change in front of him. Her frame was shuddering in the same way and there were little flashes of Beast behind Judy's eyes. Maeve's earlier comment about "dominance frenzy" boiled to the surface of his mind and made his survival instincts kick in. He coughed up the names.

"Maeve, Kaitlyn, Joan, Leanna, Angela, and Lynn from the regular bunnies. Franklin from the lycanthropes, so far, but I'd hazard a guess at Chloe and Diana. Maybe Tiffany."

"Bloody hells..." Judy was pinching the bridge of her muzzle again.

"Carrots?" 

She held up a paw, stopping him. "We'll talk about this later, but understand this: you are my responsibility."

"Carrots…"

"My. Res. Pon. Si. Bi. Li. Ty. I found you, spared you, brought you home, and vouched for you. It's my task to take care of you."

"Is this a country honor thing?"

She huffed a laugh. "Not exactly. My mother taught us to follow through on our commitments. Our situation is a little… odd… so, befriending you put you in my care of for as long as you stay with us."

"So, the others offering to help feed me is… bad?"

"It's a little bit sibling rivalry. Taking away something of significance to prove they're just as good as I am, just as brave…"

"Just as special."

"But also… it's also a dominance play between Weres. Taking something from me is a challenge to my position. I'm pretty high up in the social hierarchy of the clan, so I'm a popular target for the younger ones trying to prove themselves. That's probably why Frankie was the only one to be so open about it."

"Why would the others be worse?"

"We'll talk about this later. It's getting late and I have a headache."

"Are you sure it isn't allergies?"

Judy's laughter was part disbelief, part amusement. "I'm a country rabbit. I don't have allergies!"

"You never know. We're right by a flower patch. It could be." Judy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. I can smell all the flowers in the patch, but there's something sweet that's definitely dominating." Nick closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "Sweetness, musk, spice and something earthy..."

He heard her heartrate spike, again, but her response was calm. "All I smell is violets, but I know that's you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. You smell like violets when you feed."

Dread settled into Nick's gut. "Oh… Good…"

"Nick?"

"I should get back. It's getting late and the kits…"

"Uhhuh…." Judy muttered, uncertainly. "Have fun. I'll see you when I get back."

With those parting words, Judy slipped away into the trees and Nick scampered back towards the house. Of course, she'd notice. Lycanthropic senses aside, she was around him every night and fed him daily. Sometimes, multiple times a day! Small wonder she associated that scent with him. Blessedly, she didn't know what it actually meant. For a breath, he considered getting some musk mask sent out from the city, but that idea was discarded almost instantly. Any change would tip his hand and draw attention to it. She may be a country bunny and a bit undereducated in some ways, but she was tenacious as they come. One hint and she'd keep after it until she knew everything. He was not prepared for her to learn that little secret just yet.

Possibly ever, but that was likely impossible.

The remainder of Nick's evening consisted of what had become his usual routine. A couple hours playing with the kits followed by some light housework. He'd started earning his keep by running laundry and doing dishes while the rest of the house was asleep. The only other mammals awake at his normal hours were a few of the were-buns who had longer, or later patrols, the very early risers and the occasional night-owl student.

That was why he was so astonished to find himself pinned to the kitchen wall by an arctic fox vixen about two hours past midnight.

"Skye? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Rescuing my idiot brother, of course. Come on!"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N:

It's been a while on this one updated, but the story is not yet done! I hope you enjoy it.

My thanks go out to the following:

kt_valmiri for soundboarding.  
Damlone & BlueberryandHoney for beta reading.  
OnceNeverTwiceAlways for editing.

If you're interested in supporting DRW or my other writing, you can buy me a coffee. Check out the link in my profile for more details.

Now, on with the show!

* * *

Nick was in a panic. His sister was there. In the house. A rabbit warren full of were-rabbits. He had no clue how she had gotten in, but he knew it was only a matter of moments before she was found out and they were both reduced to a fine red mist.

He brushed her paws off his muzzle and whispered, "Skye, you have to get out of here."

"That's what I'm saying," she hissed back. "Only it's 'we'. Now let's go!"

"I can't!"

"Of course, you can! It's easy!" Her voice dripped saccharine acid. "One paw in front of the other towards and through the door. Then, we can fly away! It's so easy even _you_ could pull it off!"

"I'm staying here."

"Listen you little idiot." Nick found himself pinned to the wall again by the scruff of his neck. "We're leaving and that's—"

"Oh shit..." Nick's muttered profanity shut his sister up, and she turned her head to look at what had upset him. Standing in the doorway was a small, grey, completely naked rabbit with luminous purple eyes.

Nick watched as his lapin friend took in the scene. She looked between the two foxes, blinked, and transformed. He watched horrified as Judy, now in full were-form, launched herself at them with a deafening roar. He didn't think. He acted.

His paw snapped out and pinched the muscle between his sister's shoulder and chest. Her arm snapped back by reflex, releasing him. Nick immediately put himself between his sister and the charging were-bun. "Carrots, stop!"

To his immense relief, she did. Sort of. Her paws failed to find purchase on the polished kitchen floor, and she slid right into him. For the third time in two minutes, he found himself stuck against a wall. In this case squished, specifically.

Very calmly and deliberately Nick pleaded, "Judy, please don't kill my sister."

Beast sniffed at him before turning to the other fox present, who was frozen in shock. The hulking mass of muscle and fur sniffed at her, shrugged, and grabbed Nick into a crushing hug in the middle of the floor.

Nick struggled against the familiar crushing affection to say, "Yes, Beast. I'm glad to see you, too."

Skye fainted.

And that was how they were found moments later by the Hopps clan when they came pouring out of the warren into the kitchens. There was one mildly soggy fox being cuddled in the middle of the floor by Judy in were-form, while another fox lay unconscious on the floor.

"Oh, this night is going so well…" Nick groused.

Judy was mortified. This was possibly the most embarrassing position she'd ever been in. She had grown accustomed to Beast's enthusiasm and had to admit that she enjoyed the affection she got from Beast's fixation on Nick. It was something she'd gone without, and from a younger age than most rabbits, because of her early ascension. As a lycanthrope, a whole slew of dominance issues came as part and parcel, complicating matters. Affection was one of the more…sensitive points in that vein. Nick was somehow completely non-threatening to Beast and, therefore, an excellent source for the affection and attention that Judy craved.

Their arrangement was highly beneficial. It was also embarrassing as all hell—similar to Beast's love of children's television programming and movies. As such, she had gone to some lengths to keep her time with Nick as a snuggle toy discreet. Or at least away from her family. Behind closed doors or out in the woods were about as far as she was willing to be open about her cuddle time with the vampire fox.

Beast was less reserved about their relations with the fox and was vocal about it.

 **More cuddles!**

 _Not now! We need to survive this first!_

 **Cuddles after?**

 _Assuming Nick is still alive? Sure, why not?_

A huge tremor of power shot through her. Beast did not like the idea of Nick being hurt, even if Judy was joking about it, but that was a panic attack to have later. Presently, she was in were-form, completely nude, in the middle of the kitchen with practically her whole family in attendance, and cuddling Beast's "dolly". If Judy were in charge she'd black out from blood loss to her ears. Or she'd at least wish she had.

Judy's grumbling was summarily ignored by Beast until the Matriarch and Patriarch of the family showed up. Bonnie looked from her daughter and the red fox to the arctic vixen lying unconscious on the floor, before fixing her eyes on Nick.

Stu beat her to the punch. "Nicolas, as you are the only one who can speak right now, would you mind telling me what in blue blazes is going on here?"

Hearing the force behind their father's voice, Judy and Beast collectively decided to play nice. They placed Nick on the floor and stood back, hoping that things couldn't get worse.

"Mister and Missus Hopps, allow me to introduce my sister, Skye."

"Your sister." Judy felt the ice behind her mother's words. "Did you invite her here without warning us?"

"I did not," Nick calmly replied. He was getting better at handling lycanthropes. "She just showed up."

"Why?" Bonnie inquired cooly.

"I'm curious about that myself," Nick commented as he walked to the nearest sink and filled a rabbit-sized glass of water. "All she told me was that we were leaving. Then Judy walked in, and you saw the results of that."

"Not the results I was expecting, I admit," Bonnie replied, as she considered her daughter. "After her battle roar, I was sure I'd need to get the disinfectant out."

"So was I," Nick concurred.

At this point, Beast apparently wanted Judy involved in the conversation, so she shoved her into the driver's seat.

One disorientingly rushed transformation later, Judy was able to answer. "Beast stopped as soon as Nick asked her to."

Her mother blinked owlishly at her. "Asked her?"

Judy wrung her paws. "I was more like 'Carrots, stop' followed by 'Please don't kill my sister,' after we ran him over on the tile."

"And her next reaction was to cuddle him while she was passed out on the floor?" Bonnie continued.

Judy shrugged, wishing she could melt through the floor. "She believed him."

"Good thing too…. I guess," Stu grumbled. "If your Beast thought she was his girlfriend, or something, it would have been bad."

The snarl that tore out of her throat terrified Judy as much as everyone else.

Nick blinked in astonishment at the display of feral aggression his friend had just exhibited. It was over in a flash and immediately followed by her attempting to fold in on herself while immolating. Lifting his hand reminded him of the small cup he'd filled with water and in an attempt to remove a shred of the awkwardness from the moment. He did the only thing he could think of. He dumped it in Skye's face.

Her sputtering did distract the other occupants of the room, but Nick was acutely aware that Bonnie and few of the other were-buns continuing to watch Judy closely. In the interest of breaking the tension, Nick kneeled to help Skye and he immediately regretted it.

His sister's paws latched onto his shirt front and she dragged him eye to eye with her, snarling, "Brother-dear, what in hell is going on?"

"That is quite enough of that, young lady," Bonnie snapped. "You are in my home and you will obey the rules here. No foul language in front of the kits."

Skye released Nick and sneered, "I don't live here. So I don't care."

Bonnie brought a wooden spoon down on the vixen's snout, hard. Nick cringed in sympathetic pain.

"You may not live at all, vampire." The Hopps matron then turned her gaze towards Nick and the still-embarrassed rabbit beside him. "I'll make tea."

Nick groaned internally. Tea was code for "family meeting". He'd been around the warren long enough to know those were not the most pleasant of experiences. He made his way to the small kitchen table commonly used for Bonnie's teas and sat. Judy followed suit, somehow looking even more miserable than she had previously. Stu settled against the doorjamb, keeping his eyes on the two foxes. The rest of the rabbits fled.

Bonnie continued, "If you slip past us, you won't make it past the lycanthropes at the doors. Take a seat."

The statement addressed to Skye was casual in tone, but effectively chilled the room a few degrees. Nick watched as the vixen complied, much to his relief. He already had a feeling his night was only going to get worse, and precipitously at that.

He sat quietly as Bonnie poured and served himself, the two females at the table, and then herself. Judy took a sip, looking like she hoped it was poison. Skye ignored her cup. Nick figured he may as well enjoy his last meal, such as it was, so he sipped his tea and waited.

The pleasantries ended there.

Bonnie was less than pleased for several reasons, and she was not about to be patient. "You have entered our home uninvited, threatened someone who is under our care, and upset our clan. Why should we not end you now, vampire?"

"I didn't mean to do any of those things," Sky retorted, testily.

"So, breaking into our home was an accident?"

"No! I meant I was trying to rescue my brother, not cause any of you harm."

Bonnie snorted. "Why should we believe that?"

"Because it's the truth!" Skye scoffed. "I don't know what else I could offer you as proof."

"And that's the problem." Bonnie sipped her tea, liking this new fox less by the moment. "Nick has earned our trust. You haven't. Him naming you as his relative was all that's kept you alive until now. That is as far as his support will get you. So why shouldn't we kill you for your trespasses?"

Skye looked like she wanted to snarl, but forced it down. "Look, if you're going to kill me I can't stop you. But, before I die, can I just ask a question?"

Bonnie raised an eyebrow. The vixen was rude, flippant, and had an overall terrible attitude. However, she was also upset. Understandably, perhaps, but also a weakness. One that could be exploited. There was an opportunity here. Anger often led to loosened tongues. If Nick's sister could be goaded properly, she might let a few useful tidbits slip out.

Bonnie put on her best condescending tone and cooed, "Other than that one?"

Skye ground her teeth before biting out, "Yes."

"Go ahead."

The vixen whirled on her brother and snarled, "How in all the Hells are you alive?"

Everyone's eyebrows tried to hit their ears. All Bonnie could think was "jackpot!".

"You've been gone for months. We thought you were dead!" Skye ranted before simmering into a low, threatening tone. "We heard Big let you escape the city, but you didn't even take a supply of blood. When I finally tracked you to that hollow log you were hiding in, I was expecting to find your remains! Yet, here you are! Washing dishes in a lycanthrope clan's house! How?!"

Judy interrupted, "Who is 'we', exactly?"

"His family," Skye barked. "Also, shut up. If this is my last living act, I don't want it interrupted." Turning back to her brother, she continued to rant. "With your metabolism, I was sure you'd starved or been killed for attacking someone."

Judy frowned at the interloper. "He's alive because he hasn't been starving."

Skye rolled her eyes obnoxiously. "Obviously not. What I want to know is HOW?"

Judy's narrowed eyes and the set of her jaw thrilled Bonnie in ways she had never hoped to see. This little jackpot was turning into flood of good signs!

It was even more gratifying to see the look on the newcomer's face when her daughter crossed her arms and sneered, "You're welcome."

"Excuse me?"

Judy smiled flatly. "I've been feeding him nightly since I met him."

The look on the white-furred vampire's face was a picture of horrified fury. For a breath, Bonnie was sure Judy was going to be attacked. Instead, she watched as the vixen turned on her brother and visibly trembled from self-restraint as she berated him.

"You know why we don't feed from mortals. Are you really that impossibly stupid?!" Her voice climbed with every syllable until she was all but shrieking. "Do you want to end up a junkie?!"

Now Bonnie was focused. "What do you mean by that?"

The white fox was so angry nothing could have stopped her tirade. "We never feed from mortals! It's too dangerous. The worst case is enthrallment for them and addiction for us."

Now Judy was all ears, "What do you mean 'addiction'?"

"Didn't he tell you? Feeding from a living being is extremely intimate for vampires. He isn't done with his transition fully, so it won't be as bad for him, but I know he feels the lust from it."

"Skye!" Nick's tenor cut through the air.

"Don't you 'Skye' me! That's the one part of you that's the last to change, so you'll have a mortal sex drive for about another century." She gripped the table, levering herself out of her chair. "I'll bet you forgot your manners on the first bite, didn't you? Didn't you?!"

"He didn't, actually," Bonnie commented smugly.

"What?"

"He's been living with us for a couple months and he's always had excellent table manners." After a moment, she added, "Such as they are."

Skye goggled. "Are you serious?"

"Judy?" Bonnie waved at her daughter.

"I was feeding him when he was in hiding." Judy shrugged, a bit lost. "He's never fed any differently."

"Nick? How?!"

At that moment Stu decided to interject. "Hang on just a minute there, missy. You haven't finished explaining the whole 'junkie' thing. Would you mind?"

Skye rallied. "Feeding is—"

"I'll field this one," Nick interjected. "If I'm going to be humiliated, I'll do it myself."

"Be quiet, Nick," Skye snapped back, finding her equilibrium. "Feeding and desire are linked for vampires. Whenever we feed from a living source, there's a risk that we could become emotionally dependent, possibly fall in love with the mortal feeding us—or worse, become physically addicted. It's a side-effect of the exchange."

"Exchange?" Judy was looking at the vixen as though she were a particularly stupid kit. "All I've gotten from him are stories about the city. I've gotten nothing else from him."

"Good grief…. Look, it's too complicated to explain, but it's why we use blood packs. It's also why the table manners you mentioned are so important. They're sort of like a meditation that keeps us from getting attached, but it's…hard."

"Hard as in..." Bonnie waved her paw, beckoning the vampire to continue. She was disappointed the vixen had stalled out on her rant about exchanging during feeding, but there was still a chance to get more out of her, if she could keep the momentum going.

"As in I've never heard of a vamp who didn't create an emotional mess for themselves by feeding on a mortal for a week. And you're telling me my little brother has been doing it for months and isn't completely addicted?"

"Is there a way to check?" Stu inquired.

"Oh, you'd know." Skye commented acerbically. "If he isn't following you around constantly, being irritatingly cuddly, and losing himself in feeding, he's fine. He isn't doing any of those things, is he?

"No...?" Judy replied, before muttering, "Not yet anyway."

"Judy!" This time, the todd's outburst was directed as the younger doe at the table, who shrugged.

"Well, it's true."

Skye's expression turned considering. "It may be because he's still changing. I'll have to ask Dad."

Bonnie set her cup down firmly, stating, "That will have to wait. You haven't assured your own survival yet, let alone your freedom."

"Oh...I'm..."

Nick sighed. "I'll vouch for her."

Judy leaned in to him. "You know what that means, right?"

"My life is on the line for her good behavior."

The vixen's stricken expression told Bonnie that she was cornered and she knew it. There would be no poor behavior from her, at least not for a while. "You stay here and behave yourself until we're satisfied. Until then, you mess up and you both die. Clear?"

"Very!" Skye quickly replied. "Uh...there is a problem though. I'll need to eat once a week, at least. Can I arrange for some packs to be sent from the city? I'll get enough for Nick too."

Stu chuckled. "That sounds—"

"No."

All eyes were on her as Stu asked, "Bon?"

"You will have no blood bags. You will have to make do with us." Bonnie smiled triumphantly. "It might help you curb that attitude of yours if you need to charm a meal out of someone. You might even learn some manners."

"That's insane! The risk—!"

"Is your problem," Bonnie retorted. "If you harm any of this clan, your life is forfeit, as well as Nick's for vouching for you. So I think it would do you some good to take a lesson from your little brother and learn some discipline. He's been able to feed off mortals for some time. I suggest you learn from his good example."

Bonnie took great pleasure in the flabbergasted expressions on everyone's faces before clapping her paws. "Alright! It's getting close to dawn. Nick, escort your sister to your room. We'll arrange quarters for her in the evening. Judy?"

"Yes?"

"I want a word with you."

Nick was less than happy with his circumstances as he plodded down the hall to the guest wing of the farm house. The night hadn't gone poorly—not nearly as poorly as it could have, anyway—but all was not well. His sister was fuming and still reeling from the events of the night. Dealing with her was going to be a chore. However, dealing with the honey-brown and grey doe who trotted up to them as they left their teatime with mom would make it seem a pleasure.

Tabitha Hopps was a gossip and a tease. Nick hadn't mentioned her to Judy earlier because the annoying female flirted with anything that had a pulse. He was nothing special in that regard. That said, she was also very pushy when it came to juicy details and loved to be the first one to get them.

"So she's your big sis, huh?"

"That she is, Tabby," Nick replied neutrally.

Tabitha giggled. "She looks so young."

"I can hear you," Skye groused behind them. "Also, I'm only thirty-five."

"In centuries?"

"Years! I was born to my parents three years before Nick was born."

The doe cocked her head in confusion. "How?"

"Well, you see..." Nick groaned into his paws as his sister's voice went sickly sweet. "When a mommy and daddy vampire love each other very much..."

The rabbit balked. "Gah! No! Eww!"

Skye scoffed and chortled, "I was born the same way anyone is. What did you expect? Demonic rituals?"

"Maybe?"

"Wow, Nick," Skye deadpanned. "Way to educate your hosts."

"Oddly, vampire reproduction never came up in dinner conversation." He commented dryly as he opened the door to his room. "Thanks for making this one super awkward, by the way."

Nick ushered his sister into the room with the statement "You've got the bed," and turned to Tabitha. "Well it's been fun, Tabs. But goodnight!"

"I like how that sounds from you. Next time can I hear it and stay?" the doe cheeked.

"Har, har. Very funny."

"It's only funny if I'm not serious."

"You're never serious."

"Let's test that theory." Nick found himself yanked down until he was nose-to-nose with the rabbit. His eyes bugged as he smelled the intense scent change. She was serious. "Another night, when you don't have a roomie."

And she was gone.

His sister's incredulous voice pulled him out of his shock. "Did that seriously just happen?"

Nick groaned. "Ugh…. Yes…."

"It happens often?"

"Increasingly, around here," he bemoaned as he pulled spare blankets and a pillow from the small closet.

Skye shook her head and sat on the bed. "I'm sorry. I just don't see it."

"I'd hope not. I'm your brother."

"I didn't mean like that!" Skye sputtered.

"Good." Nick shuddered. "I've had enough awkward for one century tonight. I'd like to leave it at that."

"I'm just saying, you don't have the dark glamour dad has, so I don't get why they're interested."

Nick shrugged and started assembling a pallet on the floor. "Something about sibling rivalry or rank or something were-bun-ish."

"Who ever would have thought…" his sister snickered. "Little Nicky's a Casanova."

Nick miserably laid down on his makeshift bed. "Goodnight."

Her snicker became a giggle. "Am I getting in your way tonight? Did you have a rendezvous planned?"

"Skye?"

"Yes?"

"Shut up and go to sleep."

Before either of them could say anything else, Judy's head popped into the room. "I'm about to have a chat with Beast."

Nick was startled by the intrusion as well as the lack of a knock before it'd happened. Judy was usually very particular about that. "Okay…?"

"If you decide to eavesdrop, I'll rip you to shreds."

Nick blinked uncertainly. "Understood."

"That goes for both of you."

The door slammed on the heels of the rabbit's statement, leaving the two foxes in a stunned silence. Nick saw his sister open her mouth, so he held up his paw to stop her and shook his head. He buried himself under his blanket and prayed sleep would take him quickly.

Judy wanted to crawl into a hole and pull it in after her. The word her mother wanted with her had turned out to be four words.

The moment they'd be sure that they were alone, her mother had turned to her and growled, "Talk. To. Your. Beast."

"Mom?"

"This will not do, Judith. Your behavior is all over the place. You need to talk to your Beast and get the two of you on the same page, right now."

"We _are_ on the same page. Beast and I have the best rapport in the family. You've said as much! It's why we're so strong!"

Her mother hadn't missed a beat. "Why did you snarl at the mention of Nick having a girlfriend?"

Judy had gasped like a fish before managing, "I…don't know."

"Why did you spare him?"

"Beast hasn't told me."

"Uh-huh…. Why does your scent change when he bites you?"

"That one is unfair."

"You know you like it and you hate to admit it. But that isn't the point. Beast isn't telling you everything, and you aren't asking because you aren't willing to admit the truth. That ends tonight."

Through the whole exchange, the Hopps matriarch hadn't moved. Her expression had been flat and her tone had been deadly even. There was absolutely no give. Judy had known she was trapped.

"I can't force her to tell me anything. It doesn't work that way."

"You have the best rapport in the family because you know what to and as well as _how_ to ask. You need this sorted out. Because your control is being tested, and if you don't get a handle on the situation you could go into a frenzy." Judy had leaned back as he mother's eyes bore through her like a diamond drill. "I am not having the strongest Lycanthrope in the clan losing control because she isn't willing to admit what she's feeling."

"But—"

" _Now_!"

With that, Judy had fled the room to do exactly as she'd been told for fear of what else her mother might do if she didn't. One brief visit to the fox's room later and Judy was out the door, making fast tracks for the woods.

The emotional load of the night was catching up with her. She was upset, scared, resigned, and dreading what she was about to do. The Beasts that gave lycanthropes their extraordinary power were effectively feral beings. They didn't value things the same way as their hosts and their perspectives on the world were much simpler in some ways. Their instincts were strong and their power undeniable. However, they had a severe lack of tact sometimes. Judy was used to the rather blunt way her Beast was prone to put things when they talked. It was almost childlike in character and, as the saying went "kits have no filter". This was going to be a very uncomfortably honest conversation.

Not thinking, Judy simply ran through the woods. She let her feet guide her and was completely unsurprised when she found herself in the hollow where she'd originally found Nick. She sat on the log where she'd sat for their first conversation and settled in. Squaring herself, she closed her eyes and turned her attention to her inner world, where Beast was waiting for her.

 _We need to talk._

 **About time.**

 _Sarcasm isn't appreciated._

Beast cocked her head in confusion.

 **No. We talk about time.**

 _Time? What does that have to do with anything?_

The look beast gave her was almost pitying, but gave way quickly to a vision. Judy was frightened. This had never happened before.

 **Be calm. Look.**

A brief montage flew by her eyes. Each image was a painful memory for her. Judy watched her friends leave her behind because she was suddenly different after her ascension. Bucks she had been interested in snubbed her and siblings avoided her. Lots of long nights out in the woods, patrolling. Too many of them were alone. Many of them involved tears at first.

 _Why am I seeing this?_

 **You were alone. Now, you are not.**

 _You think Nick is company for me?_

 **He is friend. Like you.**

 _How is he like me? We're nothing alike at all!_

 **He smells like only himself. No others. Just him. Like you.**

 _Is that why you didn't let us kill him? He smelled…lonely?_

 **He smelled like us.**

 _So you think we're friends because we're both desperate?_

In response to her question, another montage began. It started with patrols alongside the fox. Long conversations became lively ones and then happy ones. Traded stories in the woods became chats on the porch or over meals. Then, images of more comfortable times drifted past. Movies watched together, small outings to town or working on the farm, more patrols, and, finally, a long list of the times they'd been close, almost intimate. Judy saw herself getting comfortable around the fox. He made her laugh. She enjoyed spending time with him. She liked his company and she missed it when it wasn't there.

 **You see, now.**

 _He's a good friend._

Judy felt Beast's frustration for a moment before another memory bubbled to the fore. It was a night where she'd fed him instead of Beast—the same night she'd brought him home the first time. She expected to see her reaction to his first bite. That was the one she'd had the big reaction to, but Beast had other plans.

It was the fourth or fifth sip Nick had needed that night which came to mind. With the memory came the sensations of that moment. The familiar sting of his fangs, the pain as he bit, but that wasn't what startled her. What startled Judy was the enormous feeling of anticipation accompanying the bite followed by the euphoria of his lips touching her fur. Almost as if she'd been…

 _Kissed._

 **You see, now. Good.**

Judy's eyes snapped open and she found herself wishing Nick _had_ listened in. Now, she had to talk to him about this and she knew Beast wouldn't let her avoid it.

"Biscuits..."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:

This chapter's been a while coming. I can only blame immanent family expansion and tons of work on my original writing. There are a few other fics in the works and I'm making progress where I can. Thank you for your patience.

Now, enough of that. Enjoy!

* * *

Judy wanted a week to prepare herself. In truth, she wanted a couple of decades, but that wasn't in the cards. Neither was a week, much to the doe's distress. Fifteen hours was all she had to get herself together before she'd see Nick again. Long summer days never looked so good. The sun was up at 5:30am and didn't set until after 8:30pm. She was running on no sleep, but that was a small concern. She didn't think she'd be able to anyway. Not after the previous evening's events.

Her morning chores, classes, and afternoon studying went by far too quickly. In all that time, she'd only had one cup of coffee. That worried her. Normally, she'd need half a pot just to make it to lunch after an all-nighter. Even her amplified constitution had limits, after all. And she'd been awake and working for almost forty hours. Now, her reading and homework for the day were done and she had some downtime. Catching a nap in a situation like this would be preferable, but she wasn't tired. The more time passed the more agitated she felt.

Sitting under her favorite tree on the hill as the afternoon edged into evening was usually a pleasant experience, but she wasn't enjoying it. Time had raced past all day. Now, suddenly it was dripping by. It was painful. Facing Nick that evening was a terrifying prospect. Anxiety kept her fiddling with her paws and drumming her foot. And then the fact that it was midsummer.

She was watching the sunset and wringing the fur off her paws when she saw her sister headed her way. Judy liked Chloe as much as she could, but she was another were. There was always a dominance threat from the lycanthropes in her family, and that soured a lot of her enjoyment. In her present mindset, it was only made worse.

Chloe didn't hesitate in sitting down once she arrived at the tree. To Judy's surprise, her sister sat right next to her.

"Something on your mind, Chloe?"

The mottled doe sighed. "A lot, actually. But I'd hoped for a little companionable silence before we got to any of it."

"Sorry," Judy mumbled.

Chloe scoffed. "Don't be. It's not your fault."

"Why don't I believe that?" Judy retorted.

"Fine," Chloe amended. "Not _all_ your fault."

"That's better." Judy leaned back against the tree truck. "Now, what's on your mind?"

"The Fostering for one thing." She fidgeted and looked at her lap. "Your fox, for another."

Judy's eyes snapped over to her sister and balked. She was sitting there with her head tilted to the side, away from her. Her paws were resting on the ground at her sides and she wasn't crossing her ankles. It was a hugely open posture as far as behavior was concerned. For a lycanthrope, it was submissive. Chloe wasn't offering any kind of challenge and was doing everything she could to show it.

Judy turned to face her sister, who wouldn't meet her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It's Midsummer, so the candidates for fosterage are being decided tonight." Chloe shivered. "I don't want to go!"

"Whoa! Hang on a second." Judy held up her paws. "No one's going anywhere!"

"Easy for you to say!" Chloe exploded. "You're safe!"

Judy was stunned. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Judy! You can't seriously be that oblivious." Chloe flopped her head into her paws.

Judy shook her head. "I don't understand. How am I safe? And where are you going?"

"Unbelievable," Chloe pulled her knees up to her chin. "If I get chosen for fosterage, I'll be leaving home from tomorrow morning until the end of September. And I don't want to go! You, little miss self-absorbed, are safe because of where you stand in the family!"

"Where I sta—" Judy shook herself. "What are you talking about? And I am not self-absorbed!"

"Good gods, Judy, you're so caught up in agonizing over that fox that you're not paying attention to anything else. You aren't a candidate for fosterage because you're already too valuable as a guardian of the land. Between that and your fox, you're guaranteed to stay here." Chloe shifted in her seat miserably. "Not all of us are so lucky."

"What does Nick have to do with anything?"

"Mom isn't going to send someone with a romantic interest off to another farm for three months. It'd be completely counter-productive. And don't you start with that 'we aren't dating' crap. Even if you aren't, mom won't risk it."

Judy could only blink. "What on earth are you talking about? What does dating anyone have to do with the fosterage? That doesn't make sense."

"Judy…" Chloe groaned into her paws. "That's the whole point of the fosterage in the first place! It's a way for us to meet other lycanthropes."

"It's to cross-train us with other farming families," Judy stated the obvious.

"And find mates, you idiot! It's part education, part matchmaking." Chloe exploded. "How can you not know this?"

Judy's mind whirled. "I thought it was coincidence."

"Coincidence that almost all of the fosterages end up marrying into their host families? Right. I would love to be so sure of my situation…" Chloe's knees flopped down so she could sit cross legged and she faced her sister squarely. "Look, Judes, our family is one of the strongest bloodlines around, so there's plenty of interest in bagging one of us. It'd reinforce the other family's bloodline and be a major win for the buck or doe who manages it."

"I understand that much," Judy snipped, "but why are you so upset about it?"

"I don't want to spend three months fending off some moron's advances, just so he can try to hold me up as a breeding trophy for his family, for one thing," Chloe stated flatly. "When I take a mate, I want there to be at least some form of a relationship there."

Judy felt intensely stupid. "I can see that."

"Good. Which will make this a little easier…" Chloe swallowed thickly. "Judy, I want to borrow Nick."

Judy felt her own attention and Beast's snap into focus. Chloe was resting her hands on her knees, palm up. Her eyes were on the ground and her neck was bared to the side, again. She was offering no challenge at all.

Judy felt the world falling out from under her. "Why?"

"You aren't a candidate because of your duties, so you're already safe. Mom won't risk a lycanthrope who's already in a relationship, so if I'm dating Nick then I won't be sent away."

"You want to fake a relationship with him?" Judy's voice sounded hollow to her own ears.

Chloe wouldn't meet her eyes. "A fake one won't fool mom."

Judy felt sick and panicked.

"I know I'm asking a lot, Jude, but I'm desperate." Chloe's voice was low and quick, rushing to get it out. "I know the bucks I'll have to deal with at each family. Some are the kind that will help along getting a 'yes' from the doe they want."

The connection between Judy's brain and mouth wouldn't engage. As much as she had been dreading her conversation with Nick, now she had a whole new problem. She felt like a vice was tightening on her ribcage. Chloe's worries were good ones. Judy knew the power of her own family. It was a point of pride that they had such a strong reputation.

There were, however, darker aspects of it that she hadn't considered until now. She'd heard stories and hadn't thought about them much. Now she was thinking again. Judy didn't want to see her sister put through such an ordeal. She knew her parents weren't stupid, but that didn't preclude bad luck or unforeseen subterfuge.

"Can't you refuse?" Judy finally managed. "Mom isn't heartless enough to force you."

"Mom and dad won't force me, but you know the guilt trip I'll get for it," Chloe whined.

"Why are you so against meeting these rabbits?" Judy pressed.

"I'm not against the idea of meeting them. Living with them though?" Chloe shook her head. "You know I don't handle pressure well. If it isn't the buck, it'll be one of his sisters in the barracks pushing his case with me, or a 'quiet word' over and over again with his parents. I'll crack. I know I will."

Judy shrugged. "And you can't tell mom that?"

"I could." Chloe grumbled. "And she'd act understanding, but that would be worse. I'm already a low rank in the clan, but coming across as a submissive to mom? That's a death sentence! I'll get the pitying along with the guilt trips."

"I can see that." Judy raked her paw over her head fur. "Mom is a master."

"Exactly. Then she won't bother with fostering me in the hopes of me meeting someone. She'll take the direct route and I'll end up at the top of her list for setting me up with one of her friend's sons." Chloe scoffed. "I'm nineteen! I want a few more years before I have to worry about that mess."

Judy shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Fosterage comes around every year, Clo."

"Last year, I dodged it because I was barely too young. Next year I'll be older, stronger, and I may have a male of my own," Chloe countered. "Please, Judy. All I need is a month. That'll convince mom until it's too late to force through a late fosterage with a willing clan."

Judy nodded in understanding, but her mind was going a mile a minute.

In retrospect, she should have seen it coming, but she'd never cared. Fostering and the reasons for it—she felt like a moron for not putting two and two together earlier. She'd barely accepted the fact that she was attracted to the vampire and now she had this request to deal with.

She could refuse. It was as easy as one syllable. All she had to say was "no" and it was done, but the more she thought about it, the harder it was to say. She also didn't want to see Nick date anyone else. She wasn't ready for that yet, herself, but she couldn't handle the idea of him in a relationship—even a false, temporary one—right under her nose. She knew what "dating" meant among rabbits.

"Let me think about it." The words tumbled out of Judy's mouth.

"I get it. I do." Chloe huffed in frustration. "And you have until morning. I can delay mom that long. Just…. Don't wait too long."

Judy nodded absently and Chloe left. She paced to the house and vanished inside while Judy sat, staring into space. Her mind spun like a top until she couldn't think any more. The last minutes of sunlight passed in anxiety. Before she knew it, the gloaming settled in and a tall, red figure was headed up the hill.

"Evening, Carrots." His voice was a welcome, if awkward, balm to her mind.

"Evening," she mumbled to her lap. "Sleep well?"

"Like the dead," he replied with a smirk.

Judy rolled her eyes. "Your jokes are terrible. How's your sister?"

"She's talking with your mother now." Nick grunted as he sat next to her. "She seems a little more subdued today, so there's a chance she won't get us both killed."

Judy chuckled weakly. "You don't have to worry about that. Mom won't kill you."

"She won't?" Nick asked, startled.

She shook her head. "It's mostly a scare tactic, but it works."

"Small reliefs." Nick paused. "Will she kill Skye?"

Judy laughed. "You're starting to think like us. She might."

"You sound distracted, Jude." He scratched his jaw nervously. "What's on your mind?"

She gave him an unimpressed look that he didn't meet. "I think you know."

Nick shifted uncomfortably. "I think we have a list. And most of it falls under the heading of 'I'd rather not'."

"Neither would I, but we don't have a choice," Judy countered.

He chuckled weakly. "I thought you said your mother wouldn't kill us."

"She won't, but she knows how to make you wish you were dead." Judy grabbed one of her ears and began fiddling. "Can we just get this over with?"

He sighed and collected himself. "Which part do you want to start with?"

"Skye said something about feeling desire from feeding." Judy felt Nick stiffen next to her. "You also mentioned something like that when we met."

He grimaced. "I was hoping you'd missed that part."

"I didn't think anything of it at the time. I was expecting you to disappear after a few weeks. Hearing her say it last night reminded me." Judy smiled when she started fidgeting. "Well?"

Nick glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I'm glad you're nervous too, ok?" she admitted in a rush. "It's nice to see I'm not the only one who's out of sorts."

"I think that defines the last several months, to be honest," he snarked.

Judy elbowed him. "No more evasions."

"Oh, fine…" Nick paused. "What do you want to know?"

She elbowed him again.

"Ow!" he yelped. "Boney rabbit elbows."

"Start talking, furball. Or I'll let Beast do the asking."

"That's fine," Nick countered with a wink. "She likes me."

Judy felt herself blush. "Well?"

Nick leaned back against the tree trunk and addressed the branches overhead. "Yes. Desire is linked to feeding. Because I'm still transitioning it's a little worse for me."

"But your 'table manners' help?" Judy prompted.

"They help," he licked his lips and looked away, "but they don't remove it."

She leaned forward, craning her neck to see his face. "Excuse me?"

"Good grief, Judy…" Nick pressed his face into his paws and sighed. "Would it make you feel better if I said I got a half mast every single time?"

Her eyes popped. "You do?"

"No," he cleared his throat, "but that night when you moaned, I did."

Judy's face felt like it was on fire. "So, you know it was an…um…"

"A turn-on for you? Yeah, I caught that." He awkwardly patted her on the shoulder before adding, "Don't worry. Embarrassment isn't fatal."

A hysterical giggle escaped her. "Pity."

"So…. There's that little bit of dirty laundry aired out." Nick commented.

Judy pinched the bridge of her muzzle. "Could you stop making this more awkward?"

Nick smiled sidelong at her. "No."

Judy sputtered into laughter.

"I mean it. I really can't," he added with a shrug.

"Please!" Judy huffed between bouts of laughter. "Stop talking!"

"I'm a nervous talker, so I'm just going to keep babbling until you shut me up," he added blithely.

"And how would you like me to do that?" Judy was gratified to see his eyes bug and mouth snap shut. "There we go."

He blushed and grumbled, "That's fighting dirty."

She nudged him with her shoulder, and they lapsed into a relatively companionable silence. Judy wanted it to last a little longer, but Nick's stomach rumbled loudly. The blush that had been fading from her cheeks and ears returned in full force.

It worsened dramatically when Nick haltingly asked, "So…. Uh…. Who's feeding me tonight? You or Beast?"

"Before we get to that, there's something else I need to discuss with you." Judy shifted uneasily against the tree roots.

He swallowed nervously, but seemed resigned. "Is this related to everything else we've talked about so far?"

"Sort of." Judy shifted to face him from the side. "Yesterday, when Skye showed up, I…um…that snarl thing…"

He sagged and mimicked her action. "Is this about the dominance frenzy Bonnie mentioned?"

"Yes." She forced herself to swallow her heart back into her chest. "See, the thing is that, um… I…" She slumped, groaning into her paws. "Oh, sod it." She steeled herself and looked the fox in the eye. "Among lycanthropes there's a rule. The right of primacy goes to the one who finds it first."

"And that means…?" his eyebrow rose fractionally.

"In this case, whoever meets someone first had the right of first refusal." Judy fought down the urge to look away. "I met you first, so before anyone else in my clan can date you, I have to say I'm not interested."

The look of dawning comprehension on Nick's face was cute. It was followed by confusion, discomfort, understanding, and horror. The transitions were so theatrical Judy couldn't help but giggle. Nick failed to notice as he was staring slack-jawed at the house across the farmyard.

Finally, he stammered, "So that's why I've been almost molested by your sisters, but they always back down?"

A flare of anger spiked through the back of her head. "Most likely."

"Are you ok, Carrots?" The concern in his voice made her heart jackhammer in her chest.

She rubbed her temple. "No. The reason for this rule is to prevent a dominance frenzy. If a lycanthrope feels threatened, there's a good chance they'll lash out. The stronger the dominance of the were, the more likely it becomes. And the stronger the reaction will be."

"And how dominant are you, exactly?" he asked, cautiously.

Judy sighed. "Very. If I stay on this track, I'll be an alpha after another forty years—head of the clan, or a branch of it, within a century."

"And your sisters flirting with me makes you feel threatened?" It was more a statement than a question.

Judy rolled her eyes. "Take a guess."

Nick managed a weak chuckle. "Is this where I ask you to dinner? I have no idea how it works out here."

The absurdity of the question snapped Judy's eyes back to the fox. "What?"

"Well, I don't know what else to do." He shrugged helplessly.

"Oh, Nick, I'm sorry." Her paw moved on its own to rest on his. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot."

He patted her paw absently. "I'll admit that I'm not very good at handling these kinds of situations. I'm not exactly experienced with relationships."

"I'm right there with you." Judy grumbled.

Without thinking, she leaned, overbalanced and plopped into the fox's side. She was leaning against his shoulder before she realized what was happening. She left Nick jump slightly, but he settled quickly. Her nervousness returned, but not as intensely. It was there, but in the form of anticipation as much as uncertainty.

"I don't know how relationships work in the city," Judy finally ventured. "I don't even know how they work around here, except from what I've heard."

"Being a lycanthrope has some challenges." Judy huffed as warmth spread through her. "So do vampires."

NIck shuckled. "Not like you do. I have to be careful about my nature being discovered, but I don't have to worry about dominance, or anything like that."

Judy hummed in agreement.

"I mean—" Nick continued—"I heard Chloe talking about stealing a snack like it was a bank heist or something."

Judy went cold. "She what?"

"It was in the house as I was looking for you. I was on the porch passing a window and overheard her." Nick commented, seemingly oblivious.

Fearing the worst, Judy asked, "What did she say, exactly?"

"That she thinks she may have talked her way into a treat. One she'd share if she got it, I think?"He idly scratched his chin. "Or when she was done with it?"

Judy went still. She knew her sisters. They could be conniving and underhanded when they put their minds to it, but she'd never suspected they'd come after her. Not like this. Unconsciously, she slipped her arm around and slid down so her paw could grasp his. Her other paw landed on his forearm, hugging it to her side.

"Mine."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N:

I don't have much to say on this one. Read, enjoy, and review, please.

* * *

Nick ran like his life depended on it, but for once in his life it wasn't away from the disaster. He'd been confused when he felt the warmth and pressure on his arm. Judy had hugged him in the past, but it was always tentatively, gently. Almost unwillingly. This had been different. The pressure was firm and steady. It was also a bit trembly. He'd expected a little fear, or uncertainty until he'd heard her voice. There was no uncertainty in it. Confidence was present, as was strength—as was a growl of undeniable fury. He'd only had time to feel his eyes bug before Judy was in front of him, raking her chin over his muzzle and then she was gone. A moment later, the screaming started.

"I'm chasing the furious lycanthrope." He panted to himself as he ran. "I'm insane."

The shrieks increased and he dropped to all four paws. The last of his power went into his speed and he flew along the ground to the house.

The front door was demolished. Splinters littered the porch and the remains hung drunkenly off the hinges. Inside the door, the floor and walls were gouged. Furniture had been reduced to piles of broken wood. Nick's eyes flew, taking it all in, as he listened for any idea of where Judy had gone. He didn't need to wait long. Roar boomed through the house, leading him to an area of the dorms he'd never visited before. There, he found Judy in full were-form chasing a small, mottled lycanthrope around an open sitting room area. The only thing that was keeping the other were alive was her smaller size and greater agility. Otherwise, Nick was certain she'd be dead.

Moments after he arrived, he was astonished to see another lycanthrope launch itself into the fray. It was heavier set and had Stuart Hopps' coloring. He went straight for Judy, but not with teeth and claws. His paws flew, trying to contain his daughter, but not harm her. He didn't have much luck. The lycan buck was launched across the room moments after making contact. He popped back up and threw himself back into the mix as soon as his paws hit the floor.

Seconds later Bonnie joined him. The pair fared little better than Stu had on his own. Both parents were barely making a dent at containing their daughter and Chloe was no less hard pressed to stay ahead of her sister.

Nick jumped as Pop-pop Hopps appeared at his shoulder.

"Well, this is a mess," the older rabbit grumbled as he dropped his cane.

To Nick's utter surprise, the older rabbit's eyes flared with a lycanthrope's power and he changed. A moment later, the Hopps elder patriarch was a massive, hulking wall of flesh barely recognizable as a rabbit in any way. He easily dwarfed the other weres in the room.

The massive lycanthrope looked down at the tiny vampire in a perfect calm and said, "Live long enough, boy," before launching himself into the melee.

Finally, there was some progress in slowing Judy down. That wasn't to say she wasn't still a threat. To Nick's horror, his friend started moving faster and hitting harder. All Bonnie, Stu and Pop-pop were struggling and Chloe was panting, her eyes wide in terror.

A deafening bellow knocked Nick's ears flat against his head. In quick succession, Stu screamed in pain, Bonnie slammed into the wall across the room from Nick and Pop-pop slumped to the ground. Judy was flying at her sister, shredding the floor under her claws as she went. Nick didn't think. He simply moved.

"Carrots! Stop!"

He found himself muzzle to muzzle with Beast. Chloe was trembling behind him, Judy's claws embedded in the woodwork of the walls behind them. In a moment of bizarre clarity, he noticed Judy's teeth were longer than he remembered and much sharper.

Very slowly, Judy slid her maw past Nick's face and snarled, low and rolling, at her sister. Her jaws snapped and she snarled again, louder, as she closed her paws. The wood of the wall gave under her strength as though it was paper, leaving crushed shards of wood and plaster dust all over the floor. Judy boomed again. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut.

"Chloe," Nick muttered breathlessly, "Change back. Submit. She's giving you a chance. Take it."

Nick felt the paws on his back begin to shrink before they lifted off his shoulders. A moment later he heard ragged sobbing behind him and he turned his attention to Judy.

"Judy? Look." He whispered as calmly as he could. "She gives up."

Slowly, he reached up to place his paws on her muzzle. Stroking along her muzzle and jaw, he continued to speak, babbling in the same low, quiet tone. Second by aching second, Nick calmed and soothed until Judy's paws unclenched. The rain on detritus from her fists caused Chloe to grab the back of his shirt and burst into tears. Judy's hackled snapped back up.

"Easy, Carrots!" Nick stroked her chin and scratched at her jaw. "See?" He gently pulled her face towards his. "Here. Sniff. It's ok."

As she sniffed her hackles slowly lowered and the tension bled away bit by bit. His paws slid up to scratch the base of her ears and the back of her head and Judy began to sag. Several minutes later Judy shivered lightly and began to shift back to her usual self. Nick sank to his knees as she changed, matching her height. Finally, when she was herself again, she wouldn't meet his eyes. She just stepped forward and plopped her head on his shoulder to let the quiet, shaking sobs out.

Nick exhaled for what felt like the first time in days. "You bunnies. So emotional."

Judy laughed weakly and wrapped her arms around his chest. With the pressure off, Nick was able to turn his attention to their surroundings, again. He was in awe of the destruction. He was even more impressed that no one seemed unduly disturbed by it. Pop-pop was back to his frail self and fending off a handful of rabbits who were fussing over him, while Bonnie was directing the cleanup. There was a large area of open space between himself, Judy and Chloe, however. Everyone was giving them a very wide berth.

Eventually Bonnie strode over. "Alright, crisis over. Now, we have work to do."

Judy pulled away and squared herself to her mother.

Bonnie's eyebrows rose. "There is no need for that, Judy. I'm not happy with you, but I know you didn't do this on your own initiative." She turned her attention to the rabbit cowering behind Nick. "Chloe, you will clean yourself up, dress, and wait in my sitting room."

The mottled bunny squeaked a response Nick didn't catch and vanished.

When Chloe was gone, Bonnie turned to her other daughter and sighed. "Jude, this changes things. I need your head on straight and you need it, too." Her eyes flicked to Nick. "It's time for the fox to get the whole story, because he's in the think of it, now. Full disclosure. He's… earned it."

Before Nick could open his mouth to ask, Judy nodded and marched off. Bonnie watched her go, leaving Skye an opportunity to slip up and put a paw on her brother's shoulder.

"Nick, that was the ballsiest thing I've ever seen."

Nick wobbled a bit. "Glad you think so. Holy..."

He hit the floor. The last thought he had before he blacked out was, "I hope I didn't slur."

Nick woke up to a completely bizarre scene. He was drinking. It was lycanthrope blood and potent, but not the vintage he was used to. A lot of faces swam into focus as his eyes drifted open. Bonnie was looking somewhere between furious and relieved. Skye appeared to be anxious, but that faded quickly. Several other rabbits, including Pop-pop were looking on with varying degrees of worry and interest.

Nick's eyes flitted over Judy and Chloe, both looking stricken and finally down to the arm he was biting. He followed it up, hoping against hope that he was wrong and he didn't recognize it. Seeing Maeve's brindled cheeks pull into a smile at him left him coughing.

"Nick!" Skye tilted his face towards hers. "Are you alright?"

"What in the nine hells is going on?" he sputtered, wiping his mouth.

Skye breathed a sigh of relief. "He's fine."

The tension in the room evaporated.

"Nicolas," Bonnie snapped. "You've been unconscious for about ten minutes. A lot has happened."

"So, I gather," Nick commented.

"Yes, he's definitely fine." Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Here's the deal. Judy will not be feeding you for the foreseeable future. Until this emotional bond thing that your feeding causes is understood, that task will be shared in rotation between the barracks."

"I under- No, I don't understand." Nick levered himself to a sitting position.

"When you collapsed, Judy felt it," Skye supplied. "She was here maybe seven, or eight seconds after you hit the ground."

"And that," Bonnie bulled on, "On top of everything else that's happened tonight has left me with no further patience for any of this. My husband is hurt. My home is a mess. And I am still matron Alpha of this clan. I will. Not. Have. It."

Nick swallowed and nodded.

"Good." Bonnie rolled her shoulders. "Skye, you said you would explain once he was conscious and confirmed healthy. He is both. Explain. Now."

"He entered torpor." Skye stood and offered Nick a hand up, which he accepted. "It happens when a vampire starves."

Judy stepped forward. "I fed him last night. I know I did."

"Yes, but I'm not a full vampire." Nick groaned internally. "Fast metabolism and inefficient power usage—it's a wonderful combination."

"Less sarcasm, Nicolas," Bonnie snapped.

"Sorry." Nick rubbed his head. "I woke up this evening hungry. I didn't get a chance to eat before, um… events got out of hand."

Bonnie snorted. "Very diplomatic. The point, please?"

"When Judy charged off, I used the last of my power to catch up to her. If I didn't still have a functional adrenal system, I'd have dropped then and there. Adrenalin got me through that, but the moment the panic stopped, I metabolized the adrenalin and dropped."

Judy gasped. Chloe looked like she was about to burst into tears. Skye put a paw on his arm and gave him a squeeze. It was a welcome comfort.

Nick nervously scanned the room and dropped his eyes to the floor, "I guess Skye knew what had happened and explained enough to get some blood into me before I went too deep into torpor?"

The last thing he expected Bonnie to do was shout "Fuck!"

His eyes were the size of dinner plates along with the rest of the room's occupants. Bonnie never used profanity, let alone shouted it like that. At least, not that Nick had ever seen, or heard of. Without another glance in his direction, the Hopps patron began barking orders to the household. The kits were all squared away to bed with older siblings in case of nightmares, debris was cleared, and the household put to rights as much as could be all while Nick stood and looked on.

He didn't dare to move. None of them did. Nick, his sister and the three does stayed exactly where they were until the house was settled and the room was cleared. Only then did Bonnie return her attention to them.

She pinched her muzzle and muttered, "I need a drink to deal with this," before walking off.

With a wary glance at each other, Nick and the others followed on her heels. When they arrived in the kitchen, seven lowballs sat around the little tea table and were being filled. Two fingers of amber liquid went into each glass as they collectively found seats.

Bonnie shot her lowball and plunked the glass down with no preamble. Everyone else sipped theirs as Bonnie poured herself another, smaller measure. The silence stretched for a moment as Bonnie let the alcohol take some of the tension out of her shoulders.

"This is a mess," she began. "Nick, I… I'm sorry."

He could only blink is surprise. That was the last thing he expected to happen. "Um, What for, Missus Hopps."

"It's Bonnie to you, Nick." She corrected quickly. "Before we address anything else, I have to ask this. Is torpor dangerous?"

Nick looked to Skye and she answered. "Yes and no. For a full vampire, it's an extended sleep. Eventually, you'd absorb enough ambient life force from the environment and wake up again. You'd be hungry, but that's about all."

"But Nick isn't a full vampire," Judy cut in.

"No. For him, torpor is dangerous. His vampire part may not be strong enough to pull him out of it on its own and if it doesn't, his mortal parts could starve, die, and decay." Skye pressed on through the gasps around the table, "That isn't to say it's irrecoverable, but it's not a guarantee. If it goes too long, he could die his final death."

Nick swallowed his sigh and downed his glass in one go. "As I age that will be less of an issue."

"But here and now, it means you risked your life to protect Judy and Chloe," Bonnie countered. "Correct?"

"That's one way to look at it," he grudgingly admitted.

"Right…" Bonnie eyed her glass and the one no one had claimed. "For the moment, here is what we will do. Nick, you will be fed on rotation by volunteers, just as we discussed. You and Judy have a lot to talk about and that will happen starting tonight." She stood and faced Chloe. "I will take your father his drink and explain the situation to him, you are to be helpful to him until morning. From there, you will go to your bunk and rest. I will collect you when I'm ready."

Chloe nodded, left her drink unfinished and left, but not before looking long and hard at Nick. Her expression was one he couldn't place, but he knew something was up. The feeling only intensified as Bonnie cleared her throat.

Her attention was on Judy. "My chat with you will be in the morning. I want both of us rested and clear headed when we sit down, agreed?"

Judy nodded and sipped her whiskey.

Nick was shifting uncertainly in his seat when the Hopps' matron turned her attention back to him. "Nick… I'm not sure how to say this, but you are now involved in the dominance politics of this clan. What you did tonight, what Judy did… a lot has changed. It's going to take some time to sort out, but make no mistake. Things are going to be different for you around here."

"What does that mean?" Nick looked frantically at the rabbits around the table, but none would meet his eyes. "What did I do?"

"You risked your life to protect Chloe and Judy." Bonnie stood and leaned on the tabletop. "That means Chloe owes you her life and Judy owes you for stopping her from killing her own sister. It may not have come to that, but I'm not willing to put too much faith in that presumption."

Nick held up his paws, forestalling any interruptions. "Let's say you're right. Does this mean I have a rank, or something, now?"

Bonnie sighed. "Yes. And the responsibilities that come with it."

Nick's paw tightened on his glass. "What kind of responsibilities?"

"We don't know yet." Bonnie turned to Judy. "It depends on how the other weres react to what your girlfriend did tonight."

Nick felt himself flush. "Is that what the mark on my face meant?"

Bonnie lifted an eyebrow at her daughter. "Judy?"

Judy's face and ears were scarlet. Her embarrassment was evident and made worse by the fact that she was still naked. All she could do was nod. Nick swallowed.

"She claimed you," Bonnie stated. "Anything past that is unknown and your business, or it should have been."

"Wait," Skye interjected. "Should have been what? It isn't their business what their relationship is, now?"

"Not after Judy had her frenzy. If she had raged and been stopped by myself or Stuart, that would have been fine, but she wasn't. She stood her ground against three of the strongest lycanthropes in the clan."

Skye glanced at Judy. "And that's… bad?"

"It means Judy is more dominant than we thought. Much more. She's already an Alpha. Who happens to respond to her vampire boyfriend as though he's an Omega and her Beta." Bonnie rubbed a paw over her face. "I've never seen anything like it before."

"I'm sorry." Skye slumped in her chair. "I don't know what all these terms mean."

"Omega means 'no threat' to lycanthropes," Judy supplied as she stared at the table. "Beta means second in command. A Beta can command respect from their Alpha despite their lower rank, while an Omega… has the freedom to say anything or do and not be punished for it. Nothing they do is a play for dominance. It's incredibly rare."

"Unheard of outside lycanthropes, until now," Bonnie added, looking at the foxes. "I see you've started to grasp the situation."

Nick could only nod.

"Like it or not, Nick, you're in the thick of it." Bonnie collected her glass and her husbands, preparing to leave. "Expect some changes in how you're treated. Judy will explain the rest."

Her mother's departure left Judy feeling ill. She was floating somewhere between mortified and guilt-ridden. And she was still naked. She glanced at Nick and felt instantly worse. The todd was staring into space, fiddling absently with his glass. His sister was watching him uncertainly. Slowly, the vixen reached out and poured her whiskey into her brother's glass.

The sound snapped Nick out of his own head. "Huh?"

"You need it." Skye patted him on the shoulder. "Won't do me any good, anyway."

"Yeah." Nick mumbled. "Thanks."

He stared vacantly at his glass for a moment before looking at Maeve. "This may be a stupid question, but I was unconscious for a bit…"

Maeve giggled quietly. "Why am I here?"

"Perfect," he chirped a weak laugh. "I don't need to ask."

Judy felt her heart drop to ankle level as her sister answered. "I'm here to make sure you're well fed. After you collapsed, mom decided I was going to be feeding you whenever you felt hungry for the rest of the night."

Nick's eyes bugged and he flushed. "That really isn't necessary."

"it is according to mom," Maeve countered. "According to Skye, you've been skating along only taking the bare minimum since you've been here. Is that right?"

Nick dropped his ears to hide their pink tinge. "Um… More or less."

"That's a 'yes'." The mahogany brindled doe stood and paced over to the fox. "That is unacceptable to us. It's admirable that you've shown such restraint, but it speaks poorly of our hospitality that you've been working on a starvation diet for the last several months."

"You really shouldn't have pushed yourself like that, Nick," Skye chimed in. "At your age, it's extremely unhealthy."

Nick groaned. "I was afraid of Bonnie and Stu turning me into a Rorschach wall decoration if I took too much."

Judy hiccupped a laugh.

Maeve snorted. "Well, get used to it. You're going to be fattened up whether you like it or not."

Nick's eyebrow quirked. "And there's no innuendo in your words. Who are you, again?"

Judy and Maeve shared a look. There was no challenge or force behind the look and Judy nodded. She was still too embarrassed to say much, so if humiliating truths were going to be shared, she'd rather it was someone else who did the sharing.

Maeve smiled at her sympathetically before addressing Nick, again. "Things are different, now."

"That's what everyone keeps saying," Nick groaned. "So, the whole clan's had a personality shift, or something?"

"When it comes to you, yes." Maeve walked over to the todd and poured her own glass into his, leaving the todd with a large fistful of whiskey. "Protecting one of us meant a lot. And checking Judy? You won't find many of us chasing you like we did before."

"That's a small relief…" Nick smirked and sipped his drink. "I think…"

Judy couldn't help the laugh, this time. It was a strange feeling to feel no threat form her sister's words. As much as Nick was going to find the changes a challenge to adapt to, she was going to be right there with him. It was a liberating experience, but frightening in its own way.

Maeve chuckled wryly. "That doesn't mean we won't be trying."

Nick choked on his whiskey. "I'm sorry. What?"

Maeve's smile was equal parts warm and wry. "You aren't prey anymore, Nicky, so we won't be chasing you."

He eyed her warily, "But?"

"But…" she shrugged. "Now, you're even more desirable because of your position."

Nick's mind reeled. "Wait, what? How?"

Skye gasped. "Oh no…"

He buried his face in his paws, grumbling, "Oh, bloody hells, what now?"

Skye was trying very hard to keep a straight face as she spoke. "They can't chase you because you're a higher rank, but they can still draw you in."

"They what?" Nick sputtered. "Oh, no. What- No! What does that even mean?"

"It's part of the dominance." Judy muttered. "It's mostly instinctive, so it doesn't always make sense logically, but… Now that I've claimed you, I feel no threat from Maeve being near you despite her attempts to poach you before. You're mine until I decide to give you up."

"Let me get this straight," Nick took another long sip from his glass. "Your sisters can't vamp me, but tempting me to cheat on you is ok, still? I don't get it."

Judy felt her face burn. "It wouldn't be cheating."

The blank looks from the two foxes left Judy feeling very uncomfortable.

"It's rank." She shrugged. "Alphas come with special treatment."

Nick lifted his paw, stopping her. "You said you were dominant, but you wouldn't be an Alpha for another forty years or so, if you made it that far."

"I've always been an early bloomer." Judy blushed and couldn't meet his eyes. "Ascendant at nine, Aplha half a century early…"

"The frenzy probably triggered it," Maeve chimed in.

"Time out," Skye interrupted. "How does this make it not cheating?"

"Because he's _mine_!" Judy snarled.

Beast was pressed hard against the edge of Judy's mind. A sense of satisfaction welled from the primal spirit as the two foxes instinctively leaned back in their chairs. Maeve's ears dropped and her head tilted slightly to expose her neck, but otherwise didn't move. Beast preened. Judy took a calming breath. It did nothing. Beast was pressing forward hard, threading her own voice with Judy's as she spoke, expressing her will through the words.

"He belongs to me," Judy continued. "As Alpha, I am the only one who will bear his kits. If he uses another for his satisfaction, that is no concern of mine. They know better than to let him sire."

Judy shook her head as Beast's presence receded slightly.

Maeve recovered first. "Just to clarify, that doesn't mean you'll need to pull out."

The crude joke fell flat.

Nick's expression shifted a little towards confused from fearful and he squeaked, "Eh?"

"We can control when we're fertile. We ovulate after mating and can elect not to." Maeve swallowed and glanced at Judy before fixing her eyes on the floor. "You're claimed by an Alpha, so you can, um… choose to take a lover, or however you want to say it. Anyone who suits you, more than one, or no one at all. It's your choice."

"Oh, is that all?" Nick gabbled hysterically. His glass emptied a moment later.

"No." Judy stood and offered her glass to the bewildered fox. "There's more, but we have a few other things to address tonight. In private."

What little color there was left in his face drained. Judy glanced at Skye and the vixen made a discreet exit. Maeve began clearing the glasses into a nearby sink.

As she passed Judy, Maeve whispered, "I'll be down the hall keeping an ear out. If he needs to eat, I'll hear."

Judy nodded and squeezed her sister's arm before walking to Nick and taking his paw. He swallowed the last drops of his drink before he stood and allowed her to drag him along. She slowly but firmly guided him down the halls and up the stairway towards their rooms. Hers was closer and that was a small relief to the grey were-doe. The walk was shorter that way.

She pushed the fox through her door and closed it behind her without preamble. Without a word, she pushed him onto her bed and pressed him back against the headboard, so he was half-sitting, half-laying against her pillows. Once he was in place, Judy crawled into his lap, nestled into his chest, and began to softly cry.

Her moment of weakness became a long, slow release as the little things added up. One of his arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She became aware of the opening music to her favorite movie and then her warmest blanket draped around her. Judy's paws held onto her fox's shirt and let herself go. In the quiet and warm, she let the tension, fear, and pain drip out of her and disappear. The rest of the world could wait.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N:

And here we are with the next installment of everyone's favorite supernatural romp. I admit this has been a long time in coming. The first reason for this is my recent change of employment. I've got a new job and it has been very challenging getting up to speed. the second (and far more potent) reason is the result of me becoming a father, again. I've been wrangling an infant and a new job for the last three months.

In terms of brainpower, time, sanity, and focus, I'm running almost dry. And yet, I have not stopped writing. I can't claim to have much hope of writing more quickly in the immediate future, but I have no intention of stopping. It'll just be a bit slow. Please, bear with me.

With that said, on we go to the story!

* * *

Nick drifted to consciousness without the pangs of hunger he'd become accustomed to. It was a strange feeling. Another strange feeling was the sense of being cramped and stiff in a strange bed. The reasons for his discomfort became apparent when he opened his eyes and saw where he was. Judy's bed was larger than most rabbit beds in the warren, but still a bit small for his lanky frame.

He stood and stretched the kinks out of his muscles. As he did so, the other mystery resolved itself. The sleep cleared from his mind and the events of the previous evening resurfaced. He wanted to crawl into bed and pull it in after himself.

There was a knock at the door.

He cleared his throat. "Yes?"

"Are you decent?" Maeve's voice was muffled by the wood.

After giving himself a quick once-over, Nick replied. "I'm dressed, but the rest is debatable."

The door opened and the doe entered. "I can't say I'm surprised. You had a rough night, last night."

"Just a bit." He chuckled weakly. "Where's Judy? And why are you here?"

Maeve smiled. "She really is a lucky doe" Before Nick could ask, she continued, "Judy is talking to mom. You'll see her shortly. I'm here to feed you before the roster change in an hour."

Nick blanched slightly. "That's alright. I'm not hungry, yet."

"Are you actually not hungry, or are you so used to starving that you can't tell?"

Caught off guard, all he could manage was, "Um…"

Maeve offered her arm. "That's all the answer I need. Drink up."

Unwilling to argue, Nick addressed his meal as usual and did his best to clear his mind, until a stray thought caught up with him. "I thought you were normal."

She blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"No! I mean, I thought you weren't a lycanthrope." He shrugged weakly. "You know, a normal rabbit?"

Maeve smiled evilly. "You're cute when you're flustered."

He could only groan and rub his eyes for a moment. He saw her mouth open to respond and decided to play back. He moved quickly and sank his teeth into her arm just as she was forming the first syllable. It was gratifying to see her gasp and her eyes go vacant for a moment, but he paid for his little joke a moment later when she did speak. Her voice was throatier and huskier than usual. Clearly, she hadn't been lying when she said she liked biting.

"I'm a lycanthrope, but-" she swallowed and took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm very weak compared to Judy or most of the others. I'll never be an alpha. The blessing is in all of us, but we're not all blessed with…" She shuddered and smirked at him. "a strong Beast."

Nick fought down the natural reaction to her obvious arousal and focused on his manners. He quickly swallowed, laved the wounds closed and cleaned up while Maeve panted.

Once he was finished, he tried to smooth over the moment. "So, I just misunderstood?"

"A little," she replied, regaining her breath. "There isn't a set level for lycanthropy. Mine is just enough to be annoying around full moons. I don't even qualify to be sent to the barracks."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"I'm not," she replied indignantly. "Most of the weres in this family are bucks and guys are annoying enough without lycanthropy. I just need to go into seclusion for a night, once a month. I don't want to be stuck in the testosterone swamp permanently, thank you."

Nick couldn't help but laugh. "I suppose I see your point."

Her eyes flicked to his belt line. "I'd love to see yours."

He crossed his legs and tried to hide the pink in his ears. "Um…"

"Sorry. Try not to take it… I'm not finishing that sentence." Maeve shook her head. "Look, I joke as much as I'm serious. Bawdy humor is a good defense mechanism."

"You started it." Nick chortled anxiously. "I really make you that nervous?"

"Not for the reasons you think." She nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "Let's just drop it for now. I need to hand you off to Tiff for the night."

"That doesn't sound suggestive at all…" he stage-mumbled to himself.

"Listen fox, I didn't tell you that so you could turn it against me." She fixed him with a hard, exasperated gaze. "I'm keeping myself under control, but I would have your face between my thighs in a heartbeat if I could."

Nick smiled into her blushing face. "So, I recall from our previous conversation."

"Yeah," Maeve grumbled mostly to herself. "That was a simpler time."

He couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

"Then, you were a sweet piece of tail and a shot at topping Judy for once." Her palm flopped against her thigh in a gesture of helplessness. "Now, you have rank. That and the fact that you risked your life, saved Chloe and stopped Judy—and you do nothing but take good care of her—makes you a lot more than a passing interest. It's incredibly frustrating."

"Alright. I'll behave." Nick followed Maeve to the door. "Funny how one night can change everything."

"Hilarious. Mostly for everyone else, though," she groused and then smiled at him. "And we have extra awkward circumstances, don't we?"

He hummed his agreement. "So, it's Tiffany, tonight?"

"Uhhuh," her voice dripped envy. "Luckily for you, she's shy."

Maeve's sarcasm did nothing to ease his mind. "Chloe was shy."

She snorted. "Try not to think about it."

Once they reached the kitchen, Nick was immediately uncomfortable. Tiffany was there, waiting and looking absolutely terrified. He couldn't tell why, exactly, but he had a few guesses. One was that she'd been skittish of him the whole time he'd been staying with the Hopps' clan. Another was the company she was keeping. Judy was sitting next to her, nursing a coffee and looking equal parts angry and anxious. On her other side Chloe was imitating a statue and refusing to look at anyone.

Bonnie was also at the table. She was sipping tea and rubbing her temple. All in all, not a good start. The surprises continued when Maeve grabbed his paw and squeezed it reassuringly before she made her way towards the coffee. Nick gathered himself and pasted on the least-provocative expression he could manage as he joined the rabbits at the table.

Bonnie beat him to the punch when she said, "Are you enjoying the déjà vu, Nicolas?"

He cleared his throat. "I can't say I am, Bonnie."

"Don't worry. It won't last long." She sipped her tea. "I just wanted to make sure you were eating as I instructed and that everyone is clear on how this is working."

"He's eating well," Maeve cut in. "Three times last night and a snack this morning." The doe shot a small wink at him, making the double entendre purely intentional.

"Good." Bonnie stood and turned to Tiffany. "Make sure he eats within the hour and at least twice more before dawn. None of his 'sips', either. Proper meals."

The grey and beige piebald rabbit nodded quickly. "Yes, mum."

Nick genuinely felt bad for Tiffany. She'd been one of the interested ones before, but always on the skittish side. Aside from a blushing smile once or twice and a passing hello, they only knew each other by sight. Seeing her so uncomfortable reminded Nick of why he preferred to avoid feeding from the living. He was made more awkward when Tiffany rose from her seat and fixed him a mug of coffee.

Fortunately, Bonnie was in full matriarch form that evening and bulled on while Tiffany fiddles with his mug. "Judy, you have your patrol, so you need to get started. The sooner you're off, the sooner you're back, again, and can talk to Nick. Maeve, you have the night off, so eat well and relax."

Maeve's eyebrow rose. "I appreciate the night off, but I'm really fine."

"Better safe than sorry." Bonnie countered. "The day after vampire duty, whoever was assigned has the day off to rest and replenish. I won't have you getting lightheaded from anemia while working on the farm. It's too dangerous around the machinery."

Maeve nodded in acquiescence and sipped her coffee.

Nick had to agree the reasoning was sound, if a bit excessive. "Missus Hopps, I don't need to eat quite that much. If it's causing problems for the farm, I can-"

Bonnie's paw rose, cutting his off mid-sentence. "No, Nick, you will eat. It's for your wellbeing as much as our self-resect and it's not an issue. We have plenty of hands."

Nick hummed his agreement and addressed his own mug.

"Chloe, you will come with me. It's time we had our talk." Bonnie sounded genuinely regretful as she spoke. "I think that's all we have to discuss at the moment, so let's be about it."

Wordlessly, Judy stood and paced over to Nick for a hug. He returned it and she left at a trot. Maeve also departed, muttering about a shower.

Before Bonnie left, Nick stopped her. "What should I do tonight? Is there a chore list, or something that needs doing?"

Bonnie stopped in the door. "I've cleared you from the roster. Your job is to eat and get used to your new role in the house."

Nick cleared his throat. "What is my new role, exactly?"

"Judy will bring you up to speed after her patrol. She'll be back in a couple hours, tops." She turned to look at the confused fox. "She's very motivated to get home, tonight. In the meantime, I suggest you relax. Maybe, some of the kits would enjoy a flight in the yard before bed."

Bonnie left with Chloe in tow, leaving Nick with Tiffany and not much else to do. He sipped his coffee as the silence stretched. For several minutes, he drank and she fiddled awkwardly in her seat. It grew painful very quickly.

Nick quickly lost patience. "Tiffany?"

She started and squeaked, "Yes?"

He groaned into his paws. "Look, If I don't fly the kits around, I can get by only eating once tonight. You won't have to deal with this any more than necessary."

She popped to her feet. "No!"

His ears slapped into his skull. "Okay…?"

Her paws slapped over her mouth and she mumbled, "I mean, um… I-I mean, I… "

"It's ok." Nick used a calm, light tone, hoping to ease the rabbit's mind. "Take your time."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "I think you should play with the kits. They like it."

"Was that so hard?" he teased gently.

She flushed in embarrassment and nodded, but there was a ghost of a smile that came with it.

Nick finished his coffee. "If I'm wrangling kits, I'll need to eat. Just a sip will be fine."

To his surprise, the anxious doe shook her head firmly and stated, "No, you need to eat. I won't let you sweettalk your way out of it."

He eyed her as he put his mug in the sink. "Are you sure you're up for it?"

"I'm a lycanthrope. I can take a…" she swallowed hard, "a little nibble."

"I'll be straight with you, Tiff." Nick rubbed his face awkwardly, begging the cosmos for inspiration. "If you freak out or try to escape while I'm feeding, you'll end up hurting both of us."

Her eyes grew huge and her breathing sped up. "I… Admit I'm nervous about you b-biting my arm."

With a sharp nod, he agreed. "Then, we shouldn't. It's safer all around."

Tiffany shook her head again. "It's my turn on the roster and I don't shirk. Is there another way?"

"There are a few, but they don't get less…" Nick cleared his throat. "Intimate, shall we say?"

Her eyes somehow managed to get bigger and her ears went pink before they flopped behind her head. The awkwardness was so intense it had a flavor.

"Feeding from a living donor requires three things. Blood needs to flow into my mouth, whoever's feeding me needs to be safe, and I need to be able to clean up afterwards."

Tiffany nodded along as he spoke. "That means closing the wounds?"

"And making sure they aren't too upset afterwards."

"So, it's like aftercare."

It took Nick a moment to make the mental leap. "I… guess… you could call it that."

Somehow, she seemed more at ease when she asked. "Then, how do you think would work best?"

"If you're too anxious to stay still while I feed from your arm, I could mesmerize you, or hold you immobile physically."

"Mesmerize me?"

"Vampiric hypnosis. I'm not very good at it, but it should be enough to put you out for a few minutes while I feed."

"What about the other option?"

"Physical restraint? Are you sure?"

"I'd rather not wake up in the middle of you feeding, if the mesmerizing wears off." She hugged herself, seeming to shrink. "I'd probably freak out more, then."

"Alright, then let's get it done." Nick stood and knelt in front of her. "Come here"

"Wha-why?"

"I can pin your arms and hold your head steady by embracing you from the front. That way, you'll have a harder time finding leverage if you panic and you'll be more secured. Your front will be covered, too, which will make you feel less exposed and you can still grab my shirt. It'll help you feel some control in the situation."

Little bunny fists clenched and opened, again. "I think I can work with that."

The relative calm in her voice reassured Nick somewhat. Nick wanted to think about her choice and the reasoning behind it, but he was also getting hungry. After a night of solid meals, he found his appetite growing steadily. He felt stronger and more relaxed than he had in a long time. It was a theme he was happy to see continue, so when Tiffany stepped into his arms a little more eagerly than he'd expected, he elected to put off figuring out why.

His arms trapped hers, avoiding the joints. His left paw braced her left forearm against her side, trapping her right upper arm between his bicep and her ribs. His right arm wrapped around to hold her shoulders, while his paw held her head in place. The size difference worked out in his favor for once, in that there was enough wiggle room her to grab his shirt or side with her paws and enough space for her to not feel completely trapped while remaining largely immobile.

Nick took a moment to check her condition. Her pulse was rapid, her breathing was fast and deep, and she was shivering. Not ideal in the least, but he'd given her the choice. Now, he just had to do it. He cleared his mind and settled into the manners he'd been taught as a kit. Normally, the erotic thrill that came with feeding was easily ignored, but most of the time he was feeding from a limb. Yes, feeding from the shoulder was safer like this, but the position they were in was far more suggestive. It only took a moment to prepare himself and with that he hoped he'd get through it without embarrassing himself. His worries were short-lived.

His teeth nipped into her and she immediately tensed. He sealed the little area with his lips, so none of it would escape and exhaled slowly, hoping it would ease Tiffany's mind. The blood welled from the wounds and Nick shifted lower against her and leaned back, allowing gravity to pull the blood down into his mouth. Her heartrate was quick and he had his mouthful quickly. His fangs slipped from her flesh and his lips passed over the punctures quickly before he swallowed. Once done, he laved the wounds closed very quickly and cleaned the remnants from her fur.

It took less than a minute in total and the whole time her paws were tangled in his shirt tails while she shivered. It wasn't until he was pulling back that he realized her back was arched and she was still breathing heavily. His eyes snapped to her face and he felt his ears burn. She was grinning and her eyes were glazed as she swayed on her feet.

"That was incredible," she murmured.

"Are you, um, alright?"

"Absolutely." Her head drifted forward so her forehead leaned against his chest. "I've never been so scared."

Nick pushed her away from his chest and into a waiting chair. "Excuse me, what?"

"I love horror movies and haunted houses and all that stuff." She giggled blearily. "The ones that really get me are the mad-pred genre. Teeth and claws..." She shuddered. "Feeding you was terrifying. I feel drunk."

Backing away slowly never felt so good. "So that was a thrill for you?"

"More than a thrill, Nicky. I've never been so afraid." Tiff grinned up at him through her eyelashes. "I'm glad I get to feed you tonight."

"Uh, yeah…" he said as he refilled his coffee mug. "Looking forward to it."

Her face and ears flushed red as she fiddled with her paws and asked, "Next time, can you feed with me facing away from you? I want to try feeling less in control. I think it'll be even better!"

Nick excused himself from Tiffany's company saying he needed a shower. He did actually need one and it got him away from her for a few minutes, so he could digest what had just happened. He wasn't comfortable with any of it in any way, but he supposed it could have been worse. She was a horror-adrenalin junkie. He'd met weirder and worse. In this case, it came at the expense of his image of Tiffany Hopps as a shy, delicate wallflower.

Shaking his head, he slipped into his room, collected his toiletry bag and towel, and trotted off to the shower room. In the halls, he was brought up short by raised voices. He recognized Bonnie's mom-voice and couldn't help but be curious. Nick knew she and Chloe were having their conversation. He also knew the fallout would involve him. Considering the other events of his evening thus far, he wanted any forewarning he could get. He was getting a little tired of awkward surprises.

With a full belly, Nick had all the power he needed to boost his senses and then some. A quick check down the hall in both directions showed he was alone, so he took his chance. His senses bloomed and the muffled voices through the wall came into sharp focus.

"But mom!" Chloe whined.

Don't you 'but mom' me." Bonnie snapped back. "You caused this mess, so you're fixing the door, the floors and walls, and the furniture, so you'll be helping your father in the machine and woodworking shops until that's all done." Nick could feel the iron in her voice as she continued. "Afterhours and when you aren't working elsewhere, you're helping Nick—you owe him that much—but _only_ when your other assigned work is done."

Chloe's pout was unmistakable even through the wall. "I was trying to help."

"In what way?" Bonnie inquired snidely.

Chloe scoffed. "She claimed him, didn't she?"

Bonnie snorted. "Even if you set this up to help your sister—which I don't believe for a minute—you still caused a huge mess, scared the little ones, and got your father hurt. You nearly got yourself killed!"

"I thought it'd go differently." Chloe grumbled.

"Good grief, child..." Bonnie's long-suffering mutter was accompanied my soft footfalls as she paced around the room.

Chloe sounded even more petulant as she pushed her luck, "You always say subterfuge is a powerful skill."

"It's a scalpel," Bonnie snarled, "not a club!"

Nick stopped listening and dropped the sensory enhancement. Pinching the bridge of his muzzle, he grabbed his things and hurried to the showers. He'd wanted forewarning and gotten more than he'd bargained for. Par for the course, at this point. With yet another awkward revelation under his belt, he could only hope that hot water and soap would help clear his mind.

Half an hour later, Nick was refreshed, mildly damp, and airdrying on the porch. It turned out that Bonnie's warning that his standing was going to change things in the house was an understatement. The older rabbits were deferential. The lycanthrope population was wary, but somewhat friendlier than they'd been previously. Most notable was the absence of the heavy-handed flirting he'd grown accustomed to. Even Kaitlyn was subdued in her evening greeting, if far better dressed than usual.

The largest change, however, was with the kits. The horde of fluffballs that usually swarmed him were keeping an awestruck distance from him. He spent a long, twenty minutes using all his wits to coax them into closing the gap a bit. It involved a lot of funny faces and barely accomplished anything. All that work and time had drawn the fluffle to the far end of the porch and no closer.

Strangely, Nick found he missed the churning horde. He needed to break the ice and his full belly gave him an idea. All of his vampiric gifts were weak except for flight. That didn't mean he didn't have them. They all took a lot out of him, but his days of not having much to offer were over. The prospect of several large meals in his future gave him the confidence to do something he'd rarely even considered, before.

To the kits, it must have looked incredibly strange to see their resident fox suddenly melt away into nothing. To Nick, it felt strangely liberating to sublimate into a mist for the very first time. Once he was a vapor, he sifted through the floorboard of the porch and slid along the ground underneath. He reformed behind the group of kits. Their confused chatter and whispering amused him as he crept up on the hindmost of the little group. All of their eyes were fixed on where he had vanished, so sneaking up on one of them was easy.

"Hey," Nick whispered. "What happened?"

The little bunny, whose name was Clarence, didn't even look his way. "The vampire fox disappeared!"

Nick snickered. "Did I really?"

"Of course, you di-" bunny ears snapped around, followed by a bunny face and a pointing finger. "Aah!"

The shriek drew the attention of the rest of the throng and Nick attacked. The vicious tickling that ensued routed the fluffle, but only for a moment. The horde of small bunnies rallied, turning the tables on the fox. Forced into the air, Nick arched in a long, low circle and swooped down to snatch one of them off the ground for a glide around the yard. That was all it took. The line for a ride formed as usual and life, or at least part of it, was quickly back to normal.

When the kits were shuffled off to bed, Nick tried to head into the kitchens to start cleaning, but he was stopped by Tiffany.

That brought Nick up very short. "What's wrong?"

As did Tiffany's shamefaced reply. "You can't."

"Um… I can. I've done it before."

"That was before, Nick. Kitchen duty has been assigned elsewhere." She shuffled her feet awkwardly. "You shouldn't ask about laundry, either."

"Then, what am I supposed to do?"

With an uncomfortably eager smile, Tiffany pulled her collar to the side and tilted her head aside.

Midnight arrived with the blissful quiet Nick had come to expect from the farm in high summer. The sounds of the countryside and forests were anything but quiet. Crickets and frogs were not shy about making a ruckus during their mating season, but there was a serenity to it. Part of it, he had to admit, lay in the fact that Tiffany was off getting some orange juice and having a rest after feeding him again. Were-rabbit or not, her enthusiasm had outpaced her stamina, leaving her lightheaded after his third meal of the night. It was a small relief to have the shy-yet-creepy rabbit out from underfoot. The cool breeze rustled through the fields and trees with all the urgency of a cat in a sunbeam and Nick felt at peace.

Of course, that was when he felt his favorite rabbit arrive. "Whenever you're ready, Judy."

A chuckle drifted over his shoulder. "I thought I was being quiet."

"You were. I'm using another vampire gift."

"You are?"

He nodded. "It's another of those things that'll be unconscious when I'm older, but right now I need to put in some effort to do it."

Judy reached out and pulled his chin around to face her. "And it is…?"

"Oh! Um…" he laughed sheepishly. "Life sensing. I can feel living things around me."

"You mean seeing heat? Like snakes?"

"Not exactly. It's not heat and I don't see it. It's, well… I can feel when something I can feed on is nearby."

"Convenient. How did you know it was me?"

"You were hopping from foot to foot in the front hallway. Who else would be doing that?"

"I could name a few."

"So, could I, but it was pretty obviously you. Are you going to sit down?"

"Well, that's embarrassing." He felt her settle next to him and shift anxiously.

"It was cute."

She punched him.

He winced, but couldn't stop the smile or the chuckling. "I was expecting you hours ago."

She didn't respond at first. The silence stretched, broken only by her scuffing her feet in the dirt and shifting in her seat. Nick was content to wait for a time, but not a long one. Out of the corner of her eye, he saw her fiddling with her paws and blushing furiously. A drop of power allowed him to hear her heartbeat and he didn't need the help to smell her anxiety, embarrassment, or pheromones on the air. Her struggle to compose herself was amusing and cut short as a wizened voice cut through the air.

"Mister Wilde, I need a word with you." Pop-pop's voice was soft and strong behind them.

They both jumped, but Judy was the quicker to recover.

"Pop-pop!" Her hand landed on her chest as she took a steadying breath. "I'll give you a minute."

"No." The elderly rabbit sat on a porch chair and settled his cane against the arm. "This is something you need to hear, too, but the words are for the fox."

Nick and Judy shared an uncertain look.

The ancient rabbit snorted. "Grow a spine, you two, and get over here. I don't have all night."

Dutifully, Nick stood and offered a hand to Judy. He didn't miss the small smile and blush on her face as she accepted the offered paw and stood. Pop-pop Hopps' piercing gaze never left the pair and they quickly dropped each other's paws. Pop-pop chuckled and leaned back in his chair. With another nervous glance at each other, the pair seated themselves on the old porch swing across from the elderly rabbit.

Pop-pop didn't stand on ceremony. "You've had a rough time of it, haven't you, boy?"

Nick cleared his throat. "It's been, uh… challenging, sir."

"Cut the crap and say, 'yes'." Pop-pop snorted. "While you're at it, leave the 'sir' stuff out, too. Call me Norman."

Nick wanted desperately to crack a joke, just to break the ice, but he remembered what the rickety, old rabbit across from him could become when angered. Instead of humor, he—against his nature—obeyed.

"Understood, Norman."

"Pop-pop…" Judy began, but got no farther.

Norman silenced her with a lifted a paw and addressed Nick. "I'll be brief. It's late and I'm tired, but you need to hear this."

Nick nodded sharply and focused all his attention.

"You've been drawn into my clan's business. So far, it's been to the good." Norman nodded sagely. "I'll admit I had my doubts, but you've been a fair guest and done well to earn the trust of my kin."

"In fairness," Nick couldn't help himself, "trespassing wasn't a great start, so I understand your concerns."

"You're forgiven that owing to your ignorance. You didn't know who's lands you were on, but that isn't the point, here." The elderly buck collected himself and met Nick's eyes with a hard stare. Nick was sure he was about to be on the receiving end of a firm rebuke, so he was flabbergasted to hear the words, "I'm sorry."

Nick could only parrot them back as a question. "I'm sorry?"

"S'what I said, boy." Norman sighed heavily. "Accidental trespasser, or not, you are no bad mammal. You've been good to Judy, cared for the kits, worked your share, and asked for very little… I can't smell a whiff of ill-intent on you."

"That's relieving," Nick smiled weakly, completely lost I where the conversation was going and liking it less every second. He felt a small paw slip into his and squeeze.

"But!" the buck lifted a finger, "You have been poorly repaid for your goodness."

Nick could only blink.

"Simple truth is…" Norman shrugged helplessly. "You've not had a choice in this, have you? Dragged in to the house on Bon's order, earning your place on threat of death… Now, you're up to your pointy ears in clan politics." He shook his grey head unhappily. "None of it was your decision, was it?"

Nick worked his jaw into motion enough to reply, "I chose to stay."

"When your sister," Norman shot a hard look at the porch ceiling and raised his voice, "Who is terrible at eavesdropping!" A scrabbling sound from the roof that could only have been several sets of paws later, he continued. "When she showed up, yes, and when you stopped Judy, but that doesn't mean you chose the rest of it. Lycanthrope clans are strong families, but that comes with its own troubles. You're right, smack in the middle of it."

"I'll admit I'm uncertain, but I know Judy will fill me in."

The Hopps elder nodded. "As she should, but you also need to remember you have a choice, here, boy."

The words were said to Nick, but Norman's eyes were on Judy. Nick felt the paw in his tighten.

"You aren't a lycanthrope so you aren't bound here, as we are. You can refuse your position in the clan, or any part of your new responsibilities." His eyes shifted over to meet Nick's. "Or choose to leave. I doubt even Bonnie would deny you, now." At that, Pop-pop Hopps stood and collected his cane. "You've been swept along for a time, fox, but it's about time you take back some control, don't you think?"

Nick nodded absently, his thoughts a whirl between his ears.

"Think it over, young'un. You've choices to make and they'll have consequences. Think it through."

"I will, sir."

"Good. Next time we talk, I'll tell you a story. Good night."

His mind blasted, All Nick could do was say, "Good night," by reflex.

The silence stretched. In the wake of Pop-pop Hopps' reality check Nick was left with a whole new world of ideas to consider—most of which were pretty damn obvious, but had been lost in the near-constant fear for his life he'd been dealing with for the past few months. He felt like an idiot.

Running on autopilot he stood, padded back to the edge of the porch, and sat to stare out over the farmyard and fields. Everything he'd been told had been correct. Losing sight of his own will in his situation was understandable, but incredibly stupid of him.

His self-ridicule was interrupted when Judy joined him. Her ears were limp and her eyes were glued to the ground as she sat.

"He's right." Judy's words were a firm whisper.

"Yes, he is," Nick replied blithely. "The benefits of age and perspective, I suppose."

The self-loathing in her voice was thick enough to choke a horse as she said, "I'm sorry, Nick."

He smirked and snapped, "I'm not." His eyes never left the darkened yard, but he knew she was staring at him. "Close your mouth, Judy, or you'll catch a fly."

"How can you say tha-" Her words died as he placed a finger over her lips.

"I don't regret ending up here. And we don't need to go over it all. I know where I stand and I know you're sorry, even though you don't need to be." Nick lifted his digit from her mouth and leaned back on his palms. "Don't worry about me leaving, either. I have plenty of unfinished business here."

"Um… Like what?"

Nick rolled his eyes at her attempt at being coy, but had to smile. Her artlessness was charming in its innocence. It was also refreshing and he was reminded, yet again, of how good it was to be around honest mammals.

"I have to make sure my idiot sister doesn't get herself killed for one."

An indignant "Oi!" rattled down from the roof, followed by a scuffle and the sounds of a hushed, angry exchange.

Nick swallowed his laughter and Judy's paws snapped over her mouth, ineffectually smothering her giggles.

"And," he continued loudly for his audience, "I have to figure out this whole lycanthrope clan politics thing I'm stuck in. I hate leaving things unfinished, so I figure that'll keep me busy for a while…"

Out of the corner of his eye, Nick saw her huff in irritation even as a relieved smile grew on her cheeks.

"And?" she prompted.

He smirked straight at her. "And Beast would be devastated if her dolly left."

She knew he was playing with her. She was so cute when she was annoyed and she hated it. Unless it was him. Then, she loved and hated it. The happy-angry combo was warring across her features when she punched him—just enough to sting, but not leave a mark.

Nick rubbed his arm theatrically. "Ow…"

Judy leaned in, staring hard at him. "And…?"

He sighed and playfully shoved her with his elbow. "And… well… There's this grey were-rabbit out here that I'm sort of involved with. We have a lot of unfinished business…"

"Business, huh?"

"She keeps promising to educate me on country rabbit dating customs and lycanthrope dominance," Nick wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. "but things keep getting in the way."

Her ears turned bright red and she punched him again. Hard. Nick groaned and rubbed his arm again, this time for real.

"Bloody hells, rabbit!"

"You deserved it!"

"Your blush is cute, by the way."

She punched him again.

"The same spot! Really?" He grumbled. "I hope you're gentler in bed. I'm fragile."

"Oh, my gods… Shut up."

"You really can't take flirting, can you?"

"I can ta-" Her ears snapped up and her eyes locked onto his face. "What did you say?"

"Flirting. You know that thing we awkwardly attempt from time to time?"

"Wha- Um… What does that mean, now?

Nick wanted to groan in frustration and laugh at the same time. "It means that I think we're both a little stupid."

"Excuse me?"

"Judy, we're already dating—or so close to it as makes no difference." He shrugged resignedly. "So, you can stop worrying about me leaving. I'm not going anywhere."

"When did that happen?"

"When we were distracted by random acts of family and not paying attention."

"So, what now?"

"Now-" Nick began, but was interrupted by the front door opening.

Four rabbits walked onto the porch.

"-your siblings interrupt us with impeccable timing," he grumbled.

Maeve smirked at the couple and leaned against the doorjamb. Tiffany followed suit, tugging on her collar. Franklin followed them out, but close to sit in the chair Pop-pop had vacated and eyes his sisters dubiously. Lastly, Chloe crept through the door.

To Nick's utter surprise, she didn't keep her distance like the others. Instead, she dropped to all-fours and shoved herself under Nick's arm on the opposite side to Judy. She huddled against his thigh with her head next to his knee and his forearm resting on her back like an arm rest.

Nick's eyes flitted to Judy whose eyebrows lifted sharply. Getting nothing else, he glanced at the other three rabbits. Maeve and Tiffany were snickering into their paws and Frankie was face-palming. Nick made an executive decision, swept Judy into his arms, popped his wings out, and launched himself into the night air.

"Nick!" Judy shrieked as she latched onto his neck. "What the hells are you doing?!"

"I'm taking you somewhere where we can talk without interruption."

"We could do that on the ground!"

"And be followed every step of the way," he countered as he banked a turn towards the wooded hills. "Just hold on tight. It's a short trip."

Judy's grip didn't slacken.

"I'm not about to drop you, Judy. Trust me."

"I do. You're the one mammal I trust completely." Her grip tightened. "It's gravity I have problems with."

Nick laughed as the treetops snapped past below him. "I'll protect you from the mean old gravity, but when we land, you're finally going to fill me in, alright."

"Get me back on the ground safely and we'll fill each other in."

Nick was glad that gliding took almost no brain power. Her husky whisper in his ear was enough to completely distract him. He smiled in the starlight as he felt her face warm against his chest. Rather than cheapen the moment by speaking, he held her tighter and poured on the speed.


End file.
